Our Song
by AprilMayJune624
Summary: Music is what brought Troy Bolton and Gabriella Montez together. What happened between each movie and during missing moments? Read to find out. First fan-fic.
1. Chapter 1: Chemicals React

**Disclaimer: I do not own HSM or the songs that are mentioned in the stories.**

* * *

Chapter One: Chemicals React

_Well the planets all aligned_

_When you looked into my eyes_

_And just like that_

_The chemicals react_

_The chemicals react_

* * *

"Come on, Gabi. Wake up." Her mom said.

Gabriella got up, but sat in her hotel bed for a few minutes pondering what she had just dreamt about. In her dream, she had met someone really special, but she pushed it aside and got ready for the day. Today was December 31. New Year's Eve. The year had gone by so fast. It was hard to believe that it was almost the New Year.

To pass the time, she grabbed the book that she had brought along with her. She made her way over to the fireplace and sat there reading. The only time she left her book was when she went to breakfast, lunch, dinner, and when she had to get ready for the New Year's Eve party the hotel was throwing for the teens. She arrived at the party and sat down by a lamp once more to read her book. Too bad it didn't last for long, because suddenly a spotlight was on her, and she was being led toward the stage where some people were doing karaoke. She didn't even have time to protest. When she got on the stage, she saw a boy on the other side of her. She hated being the center of attention. The boy on the other side of her looked equally terrified.

The emcee whispered to them, "Hey, you know what, someday, someday, you guys might thank me for this. Or not."

The boy gave the emcee a resentful, questioning look, but before he could say anything, the music started. Reluctantly, he started singing the first few notes. He was about to get off the stage when suddenly

she followed with the next few notes. He again took his place next to her, and they alternated with another, each singing the next part of the song. They didn't dare look at the crowd, but looked to the other, to try and play off their partner. Each looked at the other for a quick second before looking away just as fast. They did that for a few moments before actually gaining the courage to look at the other for a longer period of time, and both felt something they had never felt before.

They were nervous at first but suddenly started getting caught up in the music and into the each other's voice. They were actually enjoying themselves. As the song ended, applause could be heard, and introductions were made.

"Troy." The boy simply said.

"Gabriella." She replied.

As Troy and Gabriella left the stage, they received a knowing look from the emcee.

"Hey, you wanna grab some hot chocolate and head outside?" Troy asked.

"Sure. Just let me get my book." Gabriella retrieved her book got some hot chocolate with Troy before heading outside.

"But seriously, you have an amazing voice. You're a singer, right?" Troy asked.

"Just church choir is all. I tried a solo and nearly fainted."

"Really? Why's that?"

"Well, I took one look at all the people staring at me, and the next thing I knew I was staring at the ceiling. End of solo career."

"Well, with the way you sang tonight, that's pretty hard to believe."

"Well, that was the first time I've done something like that. I mean it was so cool."

"I know. Completely."

"Well, you've sounded like you've done a lot of singing too."

"Yeah, sure, my showerhead is very impressed with me."

They both laughed, each thinking their own thoughts when the countdown started. Everyone was chanting, "10! 9! 8!..."

_This was a great end for the year. This party was awesome. _Troy thought.

"7! 6! 5!..."

_I can't believe all I wanted to do was read a book during this party! What an amazing night._ Gabriella thought.

"4! 3! 2! 1! Happy New Year!!!"

The sky was lit up with fireworks. Everyone was so happy. Troy and Gabriella felt awkward, and Troy was taken with the sudden urge to kiss her.

"_I can't kiss her," _He thought _"I only met her a few minutes ago."_

Gabriella was feeling the same way. She thought to herself "_He looks like he wants to…but we only met a few minutes ago."_

They both looked in at each other and then at different directions before Gabriella smiled and said, "I guess I'd better go find my mom and wish her a happy new year."

"Yeah, me too. I mean not your mom," He laughed relieved that the tension was gone, "My mom and dad. Uh…I'll call you. I'll call you tomorrow."

"Yeah." Gabriella said enthusiastically.

"Here. Put your number in. Uh…there." He took a picture of her.

"You too." She said as she put her number in.

"Oh, okay." Troy took a picture of himself and put his number in before handing back her phone. "There you go. Well, just so you know, singing with you was the most fun I've had on this entire vacation. So…um…where do you live?" When he turned around she was gone. "Gabriella." He said to himself.

"Troy." She said looking at his picture as she made her way to her room.

**PAUSE.**

(Author's Note: Okay, I assume that you have already seen High School Musical, considering that you're reading this at this very second, so I will not attempt to restate the movie. It would take to long. So I'm going to fast forward to after the Wildcats won the championship game. Okay.)

**PLAY.**

Troy and Chad were making their way to the Danforth's for the after party. Troy was walking in silence as Chad kept talking about the game. His trance was interrupted by Chad.

"Dude, you okay? Is something wrong?"

"No, nothing's wrong, Dude. Why would anything be wrong?"

"Troy, I've known you since, what pre-school? You're my best friend. You're like my brother. I know when you're lying to me." He suddenly got the feeling that it was about him. "Did I do anything?"

Troy hesitated before he said, "Well, before you handed me the game ball, I was just about to kiss Gabriella and ask her out on a date."

"You were serious about liking her?!" Chad asked in pure astonishment. Troy simply glared at him.

"No, Chad, I just wanted to kiss her and ask her out on a date just to get a kick out of it." he replied sarcastically before saying, "Of course, I was serious about liking her!"

Chad gave him the best hurt expression he could muster, "Ouch, Hoops."

Chad watched as Troy calmed down before giving him a less sarcastic answer.

"Sorry," Troy apologized, "I guess I just really like her."

"But she's a braniac." He replied harshly.

"She's more than that. Besides being smart, she's funny, great to talk to, and it doesn't hurt that she's really, really cute. Hasn't this week taught you that we're all in this together?" He asked Chad.

"Since when did you get so deep?"

"Since Gabriella showed me that we're not confined to just being jocks, skaters, braniacs, and drama geeks."

"Okay, okay, Hoops. Chill out. You're really freaking me out with all this 'we're not who people think we are' stuff." He paused. "So this means you really like her?" He asked once again.

"Did you not hear me pouring out my heart a second ago, Dude? Do you ever listen to anything I say?"

"When have I done that? And if I did, how many times have I done that?"

"Approximately 6,980 times."

"Well, if you're really serious about asking her out, it sounds like you need a little help from the 'Date Doctor'."

"The 'Date Doctor'?" Troy asked skeptically. "Dude, whatever. Every single date that you've been on, the girl ended up leaving you in the middle of your date, with at least something dumped on your head. So the advice isn't necessary."

"How did you know that I was going to offer you advice?"

"Like you said, we've known each other since pre-school. I know you." Troy commented.

"Dude, come on. When has my advice ever failed you?" He asked.

"Counting the bad advice that you're about to give me, approximately 7,892."

"What is this 'I no exactly how many times Chad has ever done anything' night? That was supposed to be a rhetorical question." Chad said with a "duh-of-course-you-weren't-supposed-to-answer-that-question" look.

"Wow, Chad. If Taylor were here, I'm pretty sure she would've fainted after hearing you use such a big word. How did you know that word anyways?" Troy replied jokingly.

"She used it when I answered a question that apparently didn't need to be answered, but you're getting off the subject. Now about that advice," He was about to continue, but Troy gave him a look that made him think otherwise, and he stopped himself from continuing, "Fine then, Hoops. You can just forget me giving you any advice on this subject."

"Fine with me." Troy said victoriously. "Besides, I want to figure this out on my own."

Troy and Chad arrived at Chad's house in a few minutes. Music could be heard from the back yard. The house was decorated in red and white streamers and balloons. Troy spotted Gabriella sitting with Taylor by the barbeque pit. He grabbed two sodas and gave one of them to Gabriella. "Hey." He said.

"Hey, Wildcat." She replied affectionately.

"Wildcat? New nickname? You called me that after the game." He added.

"No one's ever called you that before?" She asked.

"No. I like it though." He replied. "I distinctly remember you calling me that before we were so rudely interrupted." He said that last part as obnoxiously as he could, hoping that the guilt would sink into Chad, but when he turned to see the look on Chad's face, he was nowhere to be found.

"Then that's my nickname for you. Wait. Didn't you come here with Chad? Where is he?" She asked.

"I was just wondering the same exact thing." Troy scanned the crowd for his best friend. "He's right over there. Wait. What's he doing?"

Chad was where the DJ was trying to get everyone's attention.

"Hey, can I have everyone's attention?" He yelled loudly. Everyone stopped dancing; the DJ stopped the music; and they gave him their undivided attention. "I just need to propose a toast to Troy. He has been my best friend since pre-school, and we've been talking about this for a long time. If it wasn't for him, we wouldn't be having this party celebrating the ultimate Wildcat victory. To Troy!"

Everyone clapped and cheered. Troy beamed. This was what he had been waiting for the whole season. The applause died down as Troy was getting ready to speak.

"Thanks, Buddy." Troy said. "Umm…I'd just like to say that without the teamwork that we used in the game, we never would've pulled this off." He paused to look at Gabriella. This had nothing to do with the championship, but he decided to say it anyways. "I'd umm…also like to thank a special person here who helped me realize that we're not limited to what people think of us, that we can be whoever we want to be. Give it up for the lead in the upcoming musical 'Twinkle Towne' Miss Gabriella Montez."

There was a new wave of applause, and Gabriella blushed, turning her cheeks a light crimson. The cheerleaders were clapping half-enthusiastically as Troy acknowledged Gabriella. After the applause died down, everyone got back to the dancing and food.

"Would you like to dance?" Chad asked Taylor when the DJ started to play a slow song.

"I'd love to." Taylor said.

Troy looked over at Gabriella before smiling at her and extending his hand for her to take. She smiled and reached for his hand. He led her to where everyone was dancing and pulled her close.

* * *

School on Monday was in a different atmosphere than it had been on Friday. On Friday, the campus was excited but also nervous and anxious. Monday the campus was celebrating. Red and white banners were hung everywhere reading: "Wildcats are Champions!" or "Congratulations Wildcats!"

A limo arrived in front of the main building, and Ryan and Sharpay Evans arrived at a different school than they had on Friday. Ryan seemed to be enjoying it. Sharpay, on the other hand, was not taking the change very well. She looked around and saw that everything was as it was after the game on Friday. She had thought that this "We're All in Together Wildcat Spirit" was only a weekend thing. She hoped she wasn't expected to follow suit.

"Ryan! What's happened?" Sharpay demanded.

"What are you talking about?" Ryan asked.

"Look. Everybody is not where they are supposed to be. Why is our drama club scattered and mixed with everyone else?"

"Maybe because of what happened on Friday?" He replied.

"But everyone is so…and…" Sharpay thought, "_Wait. If the school is still like this, then that means that Troy…"_

She rushed past all the students and her locker, not that she used any of the books she needed, to get to Ms. Darbus's homeroom. She saw Troy in his usual place talking to Chad, Jason, and Zeke.

"_Good." _She thought. "_At least Gabriella's not with him. She's in the back with her braniac friends Taylor and Martha. Wait. Why is Kelsi with her?"_

She was about to wave to Troy, but…

"_What's this?" _She said to herself.

Troy was in his usual place, but he was staring at Gabriella with a twinkle in his eye like…

"_This cannot be happening." _

The warning bell snapped her out of her train of thought, and she made her way to her seat.

"_He's staring at her like he like likes her. What does he see in her? I will not have all my efforts for Troy to be in vain." _She said to herself.

Ms. Darbus started class and started reading off the morning announcements.

"Settle down. Congratulations to our Wildcats on winning the state championships." Everyone turned to look at her, because she never, _never_ said anything about sports. She didn't notice and continued announcing, "Today will be our first rehearsal for our Winter Musicale. Congratulations, by the way, to Mr. Bolton and Miss Montez who are playing Arnold and Minnie. I will need you two in the auditorium during free period to go over things, since I assume you have never done this before."

Sharpay rolled her eyes, but Ms. Darbus continued. "Sharpay and Ryan, be sure that you are at rehearsals as well."

Sharpay sent a glare at Gabriella, but Gabriella was having a "silent conversation" with Troy. She sent him a look, and he sent her his own look. Ms. Darbus, unfazed, again continued. "Ryan, I will need to go over some choreography with you. We also have after-school rehearsals. Lastly the school is having a dance in the gym this Friday. Any questions? No? Good? Let's get on with it."

* * *

After homeroom, Troy met up with Gabriella.

"Hey, so excited to go over 'things' with Ms. D during free period?" She asked him.

"Well, it beats going in there to serve detention." He replied.

"Point taken. So I'll see you at free period?"

"Yeah. See you, Gabriella."

"Bye, Troy."

"Dude, where are you going?" Chad called.

"Auditorium." Troy said.

"I thought we were going to do free period workout."

"Chad, the season's over."

"But there's no harm in preparing for senior year. I refuse to lose to the Knights next year."

"Whatever you say. I have to go, or I'll be late. See ya."

"Yeah, sure. See ya."

Troy walked into the auditorium to find Gabriella talking with Ms. Darbus. She was apparently going over the script with her.

"Nice of you to join us, Mr. Bolton. Here's your script." Ms. Darbus handed him a pamphlet. "All right. I wanted to go over some scenes with you privately. I can assume that you've never done this before."

Both Troy and Gabriella nodded, and Ms. Darbus continued. "All right."

"Wait, Ms. Darbus." Troy said.

"Yes, Mr. Bolton."

"Could you describe our characters? It would help a lot."

"Do you not know what this Winter Musicale is about?"

Troy blushed. "I…I only had time to notice the music."

"Very well then. Your character is Arnold. This you know. Miss Montez is Minnie. Your characters met after Minnie moved to Twinkle Towne. Shortly, thereafter, you feel a connection. Though you recognize this, your friends and family do not accept it. The rest you can infer from the script. Now please turn to page 25. We will start with the scene right before 'What I've Been Looking For'. Miss Montez, please start at the top."

Gabriella got into character. "Arnold, we just met. We've only known each other for a few weeks. You can't possibly know what you seek."

"Very good, Miss Montez. Mr. Bolton, continue."

Troy got into character as well. "Minnie, I'm not seeking anything anymore, because I've already found it. I've found her. I've found you. You know me better than anyone. It's just taken me a little while to realize that."

A door swung open, and Kelsi and Ryan walked up the aisle.

"Ah, Miss Neilson, Ryan, thank you for coming on such short notice. Please take you place at the piano. We were just about to get into 'What I've Been Looking For.' Ryan, please stand here and decide on the choreography. Mr. Bolton, while Miss Neilson sets up, please, repeat the last line before the song."

"Sure…uh…Minnie, I'm not seeking for anything anymore, because I've already found it. I've found her. I've found you. You know me better than anyone. It's just taken me a little while to realize that."

The piano started, and Troy and Gabriella started to sing.

Troy sang first. "_It's hard to believe that I couldn't see, you were always right beside me._"

Gabriella took the next part of the verse._ "Thought I was alone, with no one to hold, but you were always right beside me._"

They sang in unison, their voices harmonizing, "_This feelings like no other; I want you to know, that I've never had someone that knows me like you do, the way you do. And I've never had someone as good for me as you. No one like you. So lonely before I finally found what I've been looking for."_

Ms. Darbus interrupted. "Thank you. Ryan, what would you like them to do."

"Well, Ms. D this scene is in a garden am I correct?"

"Yes, you are correct."

"So there would be a bench and a path. When will we have that set up?"

"As soon as possible."

"All right. Well, this is a slow song, so we don't need to have as much choreography. Maybe just some walking and twirling. Um…let's see. Ah…Kelsi, would you mind if I used the piano bench for a little while?"

"No. I can play while standing."

"Thank you. All right. Let's have the piano bench as the bench. Okay, Gabriella, come stand over here. Okay, Troy, as soon as you finish the line before the song starts, I want you to take her hands. Go ahead and do it." Troy took Gabriella's hands, and Ryan continued. "All right, let's start with that. You know what? Let's just make it up as we go along. Do what feels right. Start from where Ms. D told you and just do what feels right."

Gabriella took a deep breath before repeating her line; Troy repeated her action before saying his line. As the music started, he took Gabriella's hands in his own and looked into her eyes. He really didn't understand how he ever got the words out, because he was mesmerized. He led her over to the bench to sit and just sang. He really didn't do anything. He just sang, and she did and felt the same. Something happened when their eyes met. Something neither of them could explain at the current moment. They ended where Ms. Darbus stopped them earlier.

Ryan was contemplating what was happening between Troy and Gabriella. "Bravo. You know, Ms. D, I don't think we're going to need choreography in this scene. I don't think we need to add _anything_. Their chemistry is good enough for this scene." He winced at the thought that his sister was going to have to see this (Troy and Gabriella) during rehearsals, and he winced at the tantrum he knew Sharpay was going to throw at home.


	2. Chapter 2: Something More

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own HSM or the songs.

Author's Note: I will put up the next chapter up soon. I can only update when I'm at my aunt's house, and I don't go there much. I will do my best to update as regularly as possible. Thank you. On to Chapter 2.

* * *

Chapter Two: Something More

_I didn't want the night to end_

_Would we be more that friends?_

_Yeah little did I know before_

_We would be something more_

* * *

After school rehearsals went as well as they could. What with Sharpay glaring at Gabriella the whole time. Gabriella, of course, didn't notice that Sharpay was even staring at her. She was concentrating on Troy the whole time. It also didn't help that Gabriella still had a little bit of stage fright. Troy helped her as much as he could. She relaxed a little bit.

After rehearsals, Troy offered to drive Gabriella home since her mother usually got off later, and her bus was long gone.

"Thanks for offering to bring me home, Troy. I thought that you took the bus?"

"My dad goes home a little after school's over. My mom's letting me use her car. My mom has to go to work early and so does my dad. So they decided that my mom would carpool with my dad, so that my dad wouldn't have to wait for me after rehearsals."

"Well, thanks again. I would've had to wait for my mom for a few hours at the library."

"I thought that you loved the library." He said, remembering one of their conversations the other day.

"I do. But between the Scholastic Decathlon and rehearsals, I don't really have that much time to do my homework and prepare dinner and 'run through our lines' as Ms. Darbus puts it."

"You sure you don't need any help?" he asked.

"Yeah. It's just a bit overwhelming. I've had to balance my work load before but not like this."

Troy reached over and took her hand into his and gently squeezed it. "Don't worry. You can do this, and if you need any help, the gang can always help."

"They won't mind?" She asked nervously.

"Of course they won't mind. I can help you with memorizing your part, and either Taylor or one of the girls can help you prepare dinner if necessary."

Gabriella instantly felt better. "Thanks, Troy. I've never really had friends that would help in that way."

"You've never had friends like us?" He asked shocked. Gabriella was great to be around. She had a happy aura about her. It was hard to believe that she never really had any friends.

"No. It was hard. Eight schools in eleven-and-a-half years. It was tough making friends for a little while, and then packing up and moving almost as quickly as I'd arrived. It was just easier to keep to myself, besides doing the decathlon."

Troy gave her hand another reassuring squeeze. "Well, it's different now. You're mom promised that you wouldn't be moving until next year, so we're going to be around for a while. You can count on it."

"Thanks, Troy." She looked down and finally processed the fact that he was still holding her hand.

* * *

Ryan had been right about what would happen when Sharpay got home. He could see that she wasn't enjoying herself at rehearsals. In all honesty, he liked that for once, someone had beaten out Sharpay and him. In previous musicals, the composers wouldn't have the lead roles kiss, so he didn't have to kiss his sister. He knew he was a good actor, but there was no way that he would ever kiss his sister. This year, Kelsi had broken the status quo and done something different for the musical. They actually had to kiss. "_Hopefully Gabriella and Troy won't miss a show." _He thought to himself.

He was also enjoying the fact that in this show, his main priority was to choreograph. He enjoyed dancing as much as he enjoyed the applause that came after it.

He could see that Sharpay was going to blow up as soon as they got inside the house where no one but their parents, the servants, and him would suffer the trauma following the temper tantrum he knew she was going to throw in a few seconds.

* * *

After Troy dropped Gabriella off at home and discussed that he would simply drive her home everyday after rehearsals, Troy got a call from Chad.

"So how did the 'Winter _Musicale_' rehearsals go?" he asked in a dramatic voice that would've made Brad Pitt impressed.

"Good. Really good." Troy said.

"How's Gabs doing?" Chad asked.

Troy smiled at the nickname that Chad had given Gabriella. He gave it to her the day they had gotten together to figure out how Troy and Gabriella were going to make it to the callbacks.

_**Flashback**_

_Troy, Chad, Zeke, and Jason walked into the chemistry lab and found Gabriella, Taylor, Martha, and Kelsi discussing plans._

"_Hey, guys." Gabriella said._

"_Hey." Troy replied._

"_Hey." Chad said._

_Looking at both of them, Troy realized that he had never actually introduced Gabriella to his friends._

"_Gabriella, this is Chad, my best friend, and these guys are Jason and Zeke, my other best friends."_

"_Nice to meet you all." She said politely, and they began to work._

_After deciding what the signals would be to get Troy and Gabriella to the callbacks, everyone decided to go get pizza._

_They walked over to the pizza parlor across the street. Business was booming, after all, the restaurant was right across the street from a high school filled with pizza-loving-teenagers._

"_What are you going to get, Troy?" Gabriella asked._

"_Well, what are you going to get?"_

"_I asked you first."_

"_Well, I think I'm going to get the pepperoni-pineapple-combo."_

"_You are the only one that likes that combo, Hoops." Zeke said._

"_I like it. It's actually what I usually get." Gabriella said. "Would you mind if I shared it with you, Troy? I usually can't finish one by myself."_

"_Sure."_

_After everyone had ordered and eaten their pizza, they were just hanging out and telling jokes._

_It was Gabriella's turn to do a joke. "Okay, there was a family of tomatoes: a daddy, a mommy, and a baby tomato. One day when they were walking across the street, little tomato lingered behind and got run over by a car. And the dad said to the mom tomato, 'he should of ketched up.'"_

_Everyone started laughing, especially Chad, "Good one, Gabs!" He said between gasps for breath._

_**End Flashback**_

Troy was happy. Ever since, Chad, Jason, and Zeke were getting along with Gabriella really well. They were treating her like a little sister.

"Absolutely fantastic. I just dropped her off at home. She still has a bit of stage fright, but she's coping."

"When are you going to ask her out?" Chad asked.

"I really don't know. I think I'm going to ask her to the dance this Friday."

"Okay. I'm holding you to that. You'd better do it, or I'll just tell her myself." Chad threatened.

"Whatever. If you hadn't interrupted me in the gym last Friday, it would never have happened." He replied.

Chad was silent for a moment before saying, "Got me on that one, Hoops. So how is Ms. D during rehearsals?"

"She's different when you're not around. She's really laid back. I even took out my cell phone in front of her, and she didn't even notice." He joked.

"Really."

"She's different. Theater is her expertise, and she's really good at it."

"Interesting."

"I guess. Anyways, gotta go, Chad, I just got home, and I need to finish my homework."

"All right. See ya."

"See ya."

* * *

Gabriella was just finishing her homework when her phone rang, seeing who it was, she answered. "Hey, Tay."

"Hey. How did rehearsals go?" She asked.

"Fine." Gabriella answered.

"That's it?"

"It's a lot harder than I thought it would be. There's just so much that goes into it. I will never take a movie or a Broadway musical for granted again. And they have to do so much more."

"You got that right. Not to mention they get paid a whole lot more."

"That too."

"So how did the drive home with Troy go?"

"Who told you that?"

"Chad. He called and said that he drove you home."

"Still dating I see."

"We've only gone on one. But, yes, I guess we are still dating. That is until he goes and does something stupid, which I am 88.8% sure that he will fulfill in the next ten hours. We never made it official or anything. But you are getting off the subject."

Gabriella sighed. There was no way to get out of this one. "Nothing happened. He drove me home; we talked; that's it. We are just friends."

"Are you positive?"

"Yes, of course, I'm positive."

"Well, _I _wouldn't be surprised if he asked you the dance tomorrow."

"Whatever you say. Look, Tay. I gotta go. My mom's calling me."

"All right. I'll see you tomorrow."

Gabriella hung up and pondered what Taylor said before she answered her mom, "Yes, Mom?"

"Mrs. Bolton just invited us over for dinner tomorrow."

Gabriella was a bit shocked but managed to nod.

"Could you call Troy and work out the details driving you tomorrow? I'll be there, but I won't be there till the usual time. I already have directions."

"All right. I'll be right back."

Gabriella went into her room to get her phone, found Troy's number, and called. She waited a moment or two before he answered.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Troy."

Even though he couldn't see her, he could recognize her voice any day.

"Hey, Gabriella. I didn't expect to hear from you until tomorrow."

"I know. Your mom called my mom and invited us to dinner tomorrow night."

"Really? Cool. So what's up?" He asked.

"My mom said that instead of you driving me to my house and just waiting for her, you could just bring me over to your house after rehearsals."

"That would be fine. I gotta go. I have to finish my homework."

"You still haven't finished it yet?"

"We all can't be Einsteinette's."

She laughed at the term that Ryan said he referred her to when he first saw her.

"Well, I hope not. You're a boy which would make you an Einstein." She joked.

"You know what I mean."

"I know. Okay. I'll see you tomorrow. Make sure to get all of that homework done."

"Yes Ma'am." He said teasingly.

"Bye."

"Bye."

* * *

The next morning was beautiful. The air was crisp and the temperature was in the mid 50s.

East High was bustling with excitement as usual. Troy had been awake all night thinking of the perfect way to ask Gabriella to the dance on Friday. He decided that he would ask her today before school started. He didn't feel like carrying this burden of nervousness for the whole school day. He knew she would be up, so he called her earlier in the morning and asked her to meet him on the rooftop garden.

Troy watched the hustle-and-bustle of the student body safely from the roof as he waited for Gabriella to arrive. He was pulled out of his trance when her voice was suddenly right behind him.

"Hey, I didn't even see you." He said.

"I saw you. Maybe you were distracted. Are the skaters really that interesting to watch?" She laughed.

"They were doing this really cool trick." He said.

"Well, was there something that you needed to talk to me about?" She asked.

"Yeah. Yeah there is." He thought of backing out, but Chad's words echoed in his mind, _You'd better do it, or I'll just ask her myself. _He led her over to the bench where they had their previous talk almost two weeks ago. Gabriella, you're my best friend. You know and brought out a whole other side of me that I didn't even know existed. Before I met you, I was just 'lunkhead basketball man'." She laughed at his statement, and he was relieved that the tension had gone down. "I never knew that it was possible to feel the way I'm feeling now. You're my best friend, but I want to be more. I want us to be something more." He took a deep breath. This was it. "Would you be my date to the dance on Friday?"

Gabriella had been listening intently to him. No one had ever said anything like this to her before. She wanted them to be something more too.

"I'd love to be your date, Troy." She said smiling.

"Really?" Troy said.

"Really." She said. Involuntarily, she leaned in and tilted her head. Right as their lips were about to touch, the warning bell rang.

"Ugh!" Troy said. "First Chad and now the stupid bell! Will we ever get a break?"

"I hope so, Wildcat. Come on." She pulled him up from the bench, and they each grabbed their books, and Troy grabbed Gabriella's hand. As they made their way to homeroom, Gabriella kept talking. "When you said 'first Chad' were you referring to Friday, when we were about to kiss, but Mr. Bad Timing interrupted?"

"Actually, yes. I was about to ask you out right then and there, but well, you know the rest. He has the worst timing known to man."

Gabriella laughed. They reached homeroom right before the bell rang.

Ms. Darbus greeted them. "Good morning, Mr. Bolton and Miss Montez. Thank you for being on time. I would hate for the two leads of the Winter Musicale to set a bad example considering the pedestal you've been placed on."

On the other side of the room, Sharpay glared at the sight of Troy holding Gabriella's hand.

* * *

After rehearsals, Troy and Gabriella went to Troy's house. They got there just in time to help prepare dinner so that they could eat once Gabriella's mom arrived.

"Hey, Mom, this is Gabriella." Troy introduced her.

"Hello, Gabriella. It's a pleasure to finally meet you." Mrs. Bolton said.

"It's nice to meet you too, Mrs. Bolton."

"What are we having for dinner, Mom?" Troy asked.

"Barbeque, baked potato, and salad. Would you two mind setting the table?"

Gabriella and Troy grabbed the needed utensils, plates, and place mats to set the table.

"Would you like to meet my dad?" He asked.

"I already met him." Gabriella said.

"Properly."

"Sure."

Troy brought Gabriella outside to meet his dad _properly_. He was grilling the barbeque.

"Hey, Dad. This is Gabriella Montez."

"Hello, Coach Bolton." Gabriella said politely not extending out her hand just to be rejected once again.

"Nice to meet you _properly_, Miss Montez." He gulped. "I would like to apologize for my behavior the last time we met."

"It's all right. You were forgiven a long time ago."

Jack Bolton gave her a smile. And nodded to Troy as if to say, "I really like her."

Troy led Gabriella back into the house to see if his mom needed any help.

"Can I help you with anything, Mrs. Bolton?" Gabriella offered.

"No, that's all right. You're a guest. I'm almost done anyways."

"May we go into the living room and go over our lines?" Troy asked his mother.

"That would be fine."

Troy reached for Gabriella's hand and led her to the living room. They got their scripts from their backpacks and started to rehearse. The very first scene.

"Hello, my name is Arnold."

"My name is Minnie."

"Have I met you before? You seem familiar."

"No. I've just arrived from another city. I've never been here before."

"Interesting. Well, it would be my pleasure to be your escort through this fair city."

"Why thank you, good sir."

"It's no problem. Twinkle Towne is an amazing place. We're named so, because the stars shine bright every night. I will have to take you to my favorite spot to watch the stars."

"I would love that."

The front door opened and Gabriella saw Mr. Bolton open the door for her mom. They were exchanging introductions.

"Hey, Mom." She greeted.

"Hello, Mija. How was your day?"

"It was absolutely great." Gabriella shot Troy a look.

Her mom followed her gaze and promised herself to ask Gabriella about it later.

"Hello, Ms. Montez. I'm Lucille Bolton. Please call me Lucille."

"Hello. It's wonderful to meet you. Please call me Maria."

"Dinner's ready you two." Mrs. Bolton pointed to Troy and Gabriella.

Everyone got seated at the table and started eating. After everyone was done, and they went to the family room, Troy and Gabriella's parents started talking about them.

"I never knew that Troy could sing, so when these two got a callback, I was shocked." Mr. Bolton pointed out. "Come to think of it, how did you two meet?"

Troy and Gabriella looked at each other. They knew they would have to tell their parents sooner or later. Troy started, "We met on vacation."

"Our vacation in Colorado?" Jack asked.

Troy continued. "Yeah. Anyways, we really didn't meet until New Year's Eve."

Gabriella spoke up, "We met at the teen party in the freestyle club."

"How did you do that? I never took you to go up to a boy and introduce yourself, Gabi." Her mom said.

Gabriella continued. "They were singing karaoke, and they did a random choice. The spotlights just happened to hit us. We were led to the stage before I could comprehend anything."

Troy spoke, "The emcee turned to us and said, 'Hey, you know what, someday, someday, you guys might thank me for this. Or not.' It turned out to come true. Well, the first part of his statement."

"Why have you guys been bubbly today?" Jack asked.

"Well…um…there's a school dance this Friday, and I asked Gabriella to be my…uh…date." He said shyly.

"Oh, that explains everything." Maria said.

"I've heard that you two are quite the performers." Mrs. Bolton said. "Would you mind giving an impromptu performance? I didn't get the chance to hear you."

"But you're going to hear us on opening night." Troy pointed out.

"But I want a private performance."

"Come on, Troy. It'll be great practice. I need to get over this stage fright." Gabriella said. "We'll just do the 'What I've Been Looking For' part. Please." She gave him a puppy dog look. He couldn't resist. They both got up and started the scene.

"Arnold, we just met. We've only known each other for a few weeks. You can't possibly know what you seek."

Minnie, I'm not seeking for anything anymore, because I've already found it. I've found her. I've found you. You know me better than anyone. It's just taken me a little while to realize that."

Troy started singing first. "_It's hard to believe that I couldn't see, you were always right beside me._"

Gabriella took the next part of the verse._ "Thought I was alone, with no one to hold, but you were always right beside me._"

They sang in unison, their voices harmonizing, "_This feelings like no other; I want you to know, that I've never had someone that knows me like you do, the way you do. And I've never had someone as good for me as you. No one like you. So lonely before I finally found what I've been looking for."_

They stopped. Mrs. Bolton was clapping, and Jack and Maria gave approving nods.

Shortly after their impromptu performance, the Montez's had to leave. Gabriella said goodbye to Troy and was about to kiss him when Jack interrupted them. Troy groaned, and Gabriella laughed.

"Soon, Troy. Soon." She said before kissing him on the cheek. She waved goodbye to him as she got into her mom's car.

"Ugh! Dad!" Troy accused.

"What?" He replied.


	3. Chapter 3: Kiss the Girl

Disclaimer: I do not own HSM or the songs.

* * *

Chapter 3: Kiss the Girl

_Yes, you want her,_

_Look at her, you know you do_

_It's possible she wants you to_

_There is one way to ask her_

_It don't take a word, not a single word_

_Go on and kiss the girl_

* * *

The next day, Gabriella arrived at school and spotted Taylor and began walking to homeroom with her.

"Hey, I barely got to saw or talk to you yesterday." Taylor commented.

"I know. I've been really busy."

"Care to tell me what happened."

"Well, first of all. Troy asked me to the dance on Friday."

"What did I tell you? I knew he would. How did he do it?"

"Well, he invited me to the rooftop and he asked me there."

"That's sweet. Continue." Taylor urged.

"Well, after school, we obviously had rehearsals, and then we went to his house for dinner."

"As a date?" She asked suspiciously.

"No. His mom invited me and my mom over for dinner." She replied.

"Nothing else?"

"Yeah. Nothing else. Would you go dress shopping with me today?"

"Yeah. By the way, I'm sort of hoping that Chad will ask me to the dance on Friday."

"I'm sure that he will." She assured her friend.

* * *

"Dude, what happened yesterday? I didn't talk to you that much."

"Well, I finally asked Gabriella out to go to the dance with me on Friday."

"That's my boy!" Chad exclaimed. It drew the attention of half the student body in the hallway. "Two best friends talking here. Nothing to see." The crowd dispersed. "I think I'm going to ask Taylor."

"Is my friend crushing on a _braniac_?" Troy asked surprised.

"Maybe. She's more than a braniac, Dude. She's smart and funny and really, _really_ pretty and…" Something suddenly clicked in his mind, and he trailed off. "Oh gosh, I'm giving you the exact same speech that you were giving me on Friday aren't I?"

"Yup. Pretty much." Troy started laughing.

"Hey, I'm really sorry about that. Now that I know what you're talking about, I think Gabs and I are really getting along."

"Yeah. I know. I kinda figured that out when we were at the pizza place, and she made you laugh so hard that your soda came out of your nose." He chuckled.

"We agreed that we would not talk about that in public remember?" Chad said looking around to make sure that no one heard Troy.

They arrived at homeroom and Chad saw Taylor talking with Gabriella. Before he could think, Chad shouted, "Hey, McKessie, you going with me to the dance on Friday?"

The whole homeroom laughed, and Taylor turned red. Not from embarrassment, but from anger.

"_Danforth_, if that's your way of asking me, then you're not going to be able to walk out of this classroom alive." She retorted.

The whole class burst into laughter. Chad sat down defeated. He didn't realize that his class clown image would get in the way of his relationship with Taylor. He decided that he wouldn't give up though. He would find a way to make her say "yes".

* * *

Troy and Gabriella walked out of homeroom hand-in-hand to their next class. Every single student was staring at them for the second time that week. The girls were jealous of Gabriella just as much as the guys were jealous of Troy. Since practically the whole student body had seen them perform on Friday, Troy and Gabriella had even more admirers.

"I can't believe that Chad did that." Gabriella said.

"I can. It's just his personality. He'll find a way to make it right with Taylor."

"He'd better."

* * *

During free period, Chad made his way to the Chemistry lab where he knew Taylor would be. _"This is crazy. I should be at free period workout." _He said to himself.

He turned the corner to where the Chemistry lab was located, and he spotted Taylor working out some equations on the board.

"Taylor, can I talk to you?" Chad asked imploringly.

"So now you use my first name?" She answered without turning around.

"Hey, look I'm sorry about what happened in homeroom. I guess I needed to keep my reputation." He claimed.

"Well, Troy didn't need to keep his reputation when he asked Gabriella." She retaliated and turned around.

"I know. I'm sorry. But I'd like to have a second chance."

She waited a moment, "All right, Chad. Go ahead."

Chad took a breath. "Look, Taylor, I'm not Troy. I can't do the romantic things that he can, but would be my date to the dance on Friday?"

Taylor smirked, "Yes. Now see was that so hard?"

* * *

"Mr. Greene, please continue painting. All right, Mr. Bolton, please continue. "

"Minnie, please."

"No, Arnold. This is how it has to be. You aren't the same boy I knew. I can't do this anymore. I'm sorry."

Ryan stopped them. "Um…Arnold, are you just going to stand there and take it? Touch her. Do something. Start again."

"Minnie, please." Troy reached for her and stroked her cheek. Gabriella, much to her dismay, had to pull away. The scene called for it.

"No, Arnold. This is how it has to be. You aren't the same boy I knew. I can't do this anymore. I'm sorry."

Troy grabbed her arm and let his fingers pull her chin up so that their eyes could meet. He could've sworn that he saw tears in her eyes. He almost forgot his next line, but he continued. "I'm still me."

"No, you're not. I'm sorry." Gabriella took the ring off her hand that Arnold gave to Minnie and gave it back to him. She ran off the stage and came back.

"Bravo. Brava." Ms. Darbus said. "Miss Montez, where did you learn to cry on cue?"

* * *

Troy and Gabriella were in his car, since he was driving her home.

"So Chad told me that he finally asked Taylor _properly_." Troy mentioned.

"Yeah. She's really old-fashioned about that stuff. She wants the guy to be genuine and ask her out properly instead of him just implying it."

"You're not like that are you?" Troy asked curiously.

"It depends. But if he's proposing, he has to be straightforward and just ask. I guess it wouldn't hurt to be a little romantic while he's doing it though."

"Really? What would you have him do?"

"It doesn't matter as long as it comes from his heart."

"I'll keep that in mind." He said. "Hey, were you crying? During rehearsal?"

"Was I? I didn't notice. I guess I did. All I remember is thinking about how I would feel if someone did that to me."

"I don't think that anyone _could_ do that to you."

Gabriella smiled. She liked that she could talk with Troy about anything. He was her best friend, but so much more. But she hated the girls who had boyfriends who were their whole life. She had decided early on that she would hang out with her friends as much as possible.

"Oh. Taylor and I are going to go shopping. I forgot."

"Do you guys need a ride?" Troy offered.

"No, she's going to pick me up around 5:00."

"All right."

"I hope that I can find the right dress."

"I know you'll find the right one, because it doesn't matter what you wear. You look great in anything."

"Kissing up huh, Bolton?" She joked.

"Yes. Yes I am." Gabriella laughed. "But I am serious."

She smiled at him. "Thank you, Troy."

"You're welcome. Here we are."

"Thanks again, Troy." He kissed her on the cheek and watched her go inside before he drove away.

* * *

"What do you think of this one, Tay?" Gabriella asked. By this time, they had gone to three different stores and tried on who knows how many dresses. The one Gabriella was trying on was a deep red dress that reached just above her knees. She had a a mini jacket to go with it.

"Girl, I think this is the one." Taylor said amazed.

"I really like it too."

The dress that Taylor had found was purple. She had picked up a jacket to go with it.

"Tay, I think Chad will pass out after he sees you in that."

Taylor gathered her stuff, and she and Gabriella went to the cash register and paid.

"Shoe time." Taylor said excitedly. She stopped for a minute. "Wait."

"What?" She saw that Taylor was looking at a movie poster.

"Look at this. They're making a new Hairspray movie. I love that musical! Hey, Zac Efron's in it! I love him!"

"He's okay."

"What are you talking about? He is so hot!" Taylor said.

"Well…"

"You know we can't all be dating the captain of the basketball team. Just admit it. Troy's looks don't compare with Zac's. He's so gorgeous!"

"Who's gorgeous?" a voice asked.

The girls turned around and saw Troy and Chad behind them.

"Hey, Wildcat. What are you doing here?" Gabriella asked.

"Well, Chad here decided that he wanted some old fashioned food court food."

"Nothing beats it." Chad added.

"Anyways, who's gorgeous?" Troy asked once again.

"Zac Efron." Taylor answered immediately. "Sorry, Troy, but he beats you a million to one."

"Gabriella?" Troy asked.

"Don't worry. I agree. He is hot, but don't worry. You're hotter."

"Thanks." Troy said as he placed his arm over her shoulders. Taylor rolled her eyes.

"Taylor, what am I chop liver?" Chad asked offended.

"No. Sorry. But I really like Corbin Bleu."

"What?!" He asked shocked.

"Just kidding, Chad. You're cute too."

"Why all this sudden talk about celebrities?" Troy asked.

"Well, they're coming out with a new version of Hairspray." Gabriella answered.

"Ah. Did you know that he's dating Vanessa Hudgens?" Troy asked.

"How do you know?"

"Sharpay was talking about it in homeroom this morning. She said, 'Of course Zac Efron is dating Vanessa Hudgens. They're perfect together! All that Ashley Tisdale stuff is totally false. Vanessa Hudgens is totally dating him.'" Troy imitated Sharpay and everyone started laughing. "He's lucky if he is. She is so…" Troy received a skeptical look from Gabriella. "But she could never compare to you, Gabi." He quickly recovered.

"Good. Because nothing compares to you either." They were just about to kiss when Taylor interrupted them.

"Gabi, we have to still get some shoes." Taylor told her.

"Ugh! What is it with you two and bad timing?!" Troy exclaimed.

"It's all right, Wildcat. Next time." Gabriella said before she gave him the usual goodbye with a kiss on his cheek.

* * *

The following day at rehearsals, Troy was impatient. Near the end of rehearsals, Ms. Darbus said that they would be going over Act II scene 8. It was the scene when the two leads would share an on-stage kiss.

Troy had been very patient. The urge to kiss Gabriella had only grown since he had first met her, and he didn't think he could take the suspense much longer.

"All right. Let's get started everyone. Mr. Bolton, please."

"Minnie, I know I don't deserve your forgiveness…"

"Arnold," she interrupted, "You already have it."

"Just hear me out please." He insisted. Gabriella did what the script called for and remained silent. "I don't ever want to lose sight of what's important ever again. I don't want to lose you ever again. I love you."

Gabriella knew that he was acting, but she let those three words ring in her ears and allowed her heart to memorize the feeling. She somehow knew that she wasn't getting the full effect of those three simple words. She hoped that one day, someone would say them to her for real. Hopefully Troy.

"I love you too, Arnold." She repeated.

Troy was now having a reciprocating feeling that Gabriella just had. He hoped that if things worked out that he would one day say it to someone. Preferably to her, but he wouldn't let anyone know that.

It was time for the kiss. They leaned in and were about to come into contact, but Sharpay came running on the stage and "accidentally" broke them apart.

"I'm so sorry. I didn't realize." Sharpay "apologized".

"That's quite all right, Sharpay." Ms. Darbus never called students by their first name. Sharpay and Ryan were the _only_ exceptions. "It's time to end rehearsals anyway. Thank you."

Everyone involved in the productions started to disperse. Kelsi gathered her things and Sharpay stared after Troy and Gabriella as they left the auditorium.

"Hey, Shar, did you really do that on 'accident'?" Ryan's hands put quotations on the word accident.

"Of course, I would never ever do something that wouldn't be short of professional."

Ryan rolled his eyes and left, and Sharpay was left to admire her work.

* * *

"Gosh, Troy, we can't even get a break during rehearsals when we're supposed to kiss." Gabriella said.

"I know. I hate it." Troy opened the car door for Gabriella to climb into.

"Somehow I think that Sharpay did that on purpose." Gabriella commented.

"Knowing Sharpay it probably was on purpose." Troy remarked. "I want our first kiss to be memorable. I'm kind of glad that Sharpay interrupted us back there. I don't think I would've liked to remember our first kiss being in front of Ms. Darbus. I was just as ready. Just be patient. The right time will come."

* * *

The next day was Friday. For everybody that was going to the dance, this meant a whole lot of things. For the teachers, it meant a whole night of watching kids.

For the girl that were going, it meant dressing up and getting their hair and nails done, and for those who had a special someone to go with, it meant making sure that this would be a memorable night.

For the guys that were going, it meant having to wear a suit and all sorts of uncomfortable things, and for those who had a date, it meant seeing the girl of their dreams in an environment other than school.

Ms. Darbus had to cancel rehearsals because of the preparation involved in the school besides the fact that her two leads were missing.

Gabriella was going to Taylor's house along with Kelsi and Martha so that they could all help each other get ready. Apart from being a great dancer, Martha was also a great stylist. Pretty soon, they all had their hair in crazy but fancy and beautiful hair styles. Taylor did everyone's nails. Everybody had already picked out their own color preferences. They got their dresses on and each of them looked in the mirror.

"Guys," Taylor said, "We look amazing if I don't say so myself."

Kelsi, who was usually shy, was loving the fact that she had new friends. Over the past two weeks, Kelsi had made friends with Taylor and Martha. She spoke up, "I agree. I wouldn't be surprised if we walked out of the gym with all the guys at our beck and call." All of them laughed.

Gabriella was happy that Kelsi had been able to find friends in Taylor, Martha, and her. Gabriella was also happy for herself. "Hey, Guys, thank you."

"For what, Gabi?" Martha asked.

"It's been a while since I've been able to make really good friends like you." She confessed.

"Why's that?" Taylor asked shocked. She couldn't picture Gabriella _not _having friends.

"Well, between schoolwork and my mom's company always moving us around, I didn't really have a lot of friends. I guess that was sort of a good thing. I didn't really have to deal with many goodbyes. I'm just glad that I'm not going anywhere for a little while."

They all smiled at Gabriella, each one happy that they played a part in Gabriella's happiness. They laughed as they all got into a group hug.

It didn't take nearly as long for Troy, Jason, Zeke, and Chad to get ready. Jason had asked Kelsi to the dance. They all parked their parents' cars outside Taylor's house and went up to the front door and rang the doorbell. Mrs. McKessie answered the door.

"Well, don't you boys look handsome." She commented.

"Thank you." They replied.

"Come on in. The girls will be right down. Girls!" She yelled.

At that moment, Mr. McKessie came in. All the guys greeted him with smiles, except Chad. He was the one taking _his _daughter out. He was just about to start interrogating him when the girls walked down the stairs. The guys turned around and gaped, except for Zeke, he was talking to Mr. McKessie for some reason or another. Mrs. McKessie took out the camera and took a few pictures. Afterwards, Troy took Gabriella out to the car. The rest of the guys followed suit. They all drove to the school and made their way to the gym. It was decorated in red, white, and gold, banners and streamers. The floor was covered in confetti and read and white balloons.

Chad and Taylor went to get punch; Jason and Kelsi were talking; Zeke was trying to make conversation with Sharpay as she glared at Gabriella; and Troy and Gabriella made their way to the dance floor.

"I love this song." Gabriella said.

"Who is it?" Troy asked.

"'Only Hope' Mandy Moore. From the movie 'A Walk to Remember'." She said.

"I remember that one."

"Yeah. It's one of my favorites." She told him as they swayed to the music.

Chad and Taylor joined Troy and Gabriella on the dance floor.

After the song ended, "Kiss the Girl" by Ashley Tisdale came on. Both couples started to dance along to it. Chad danced his way over to Troy and said, "Dude, this song is for you."

It took Troy a minute to realize what Chad was saying. He turned his attention back to Gabriella. She had apparently noticed already, but they kept dancing.

_Shalalalala  
My oh my  
Looks like the boy's too shy  
Ain't gonna kiss the girl  
Shalalalala  
Ain't that sad  
it's such a shame  
Too bad, you're gonna miss the girl_

As it neared the end of the song, Troy thought if he was going to kiss her, now was as good a time as any. Gabriella appeared to read his mind.

She leaned towards him and said teasingly, "Hey, Bolton. I think the song's ordering you to do something."

Troy smiled at her before closing his eyes and leaning in ever so slowly. Gabriella closed her eyes and brought her head up as he dipped his head down. They'd been waiting for this moment since they met on New Year's Eve. After what seemed like an eternity, their lips finally met.

Author's Note: Finally! It took three chapters for them, but they finally kissed. I'm not going to able to update for a while do to the fact that I'm not going to my aunt's house. I'll do my best to update. Please be patient with me. Thanks.


	4. Chapter 4: Waiting on An Angel

Disclaimer: I do not own High School Musical or the songs.

Author's note: Hey, guys. I just recently discovered a way that I can update more regularly. I'm trying not to get my hopes up just in case it doesn't work out. Anyways, on to the story.

* * *

Chapter 4: Waiting on an Angel

_Waiting on an Angel_

_Want to carry me home_

_Hope you come see me soon_

_Cuz' I don't wanna walk alone_

_I don't wanna go alone_

* * *

"Can we talk, Gabriella?" Troy asked. He took Gabriella's hand and led her to a less quiet spot to talk after they had kissed.

"What is it?" She was already ecstatic from what just took place.

"Well, I wanted to ask you if…if…"

"Yes?"

"Wouldyouliketogoonadatewithmetomorrownight?" He said in a rush.

She giggled, "Troy, could you say that one more time. I don't think I caught what you said."

He took a deep breath. "I said 'would you like to go on a date with me tomorrow night?'"

Gabriella giggled, "Troy, aren't we already on a date?"

"A _real_ date. Just us two." He said.

"Well, in that case, I'd love to go on a _real _date." She replied.

"Cool. Uh oh here comes the bad-timing-duo." Troy pointed over to Taylor and Chad who were making their way over to Gabriella.

"Hey what are you guys doing? You're not making out are you?" Chad teased. "After that kiss, I'd expect something to be going on." Taylor whacked Chad over the head. "Hey."

"Well, Chad, since making out is just another word for kissing over and over and over-"

"All right we get it, Hoops."

Troy continued, "And over again and since Gabriella's lips are not on mine and since I am talking to you, I guess that kind of overrules your theory."

"Well, you should, in fact, be thanking me, Hoops. Sharpay was just about to pay you two a quick visit, but we got here before she did. Plus I really did want to know what you were doing here." Chad said.

"Well, thank you for caring so much."

"You're welcome." Chad was reminded of why he had come in the first place. "But seriously why are you guys all by yourselves?"

"I wanted to talk to Gabriella. That's all."

"Oh, well if that's it, I think Tay and I are going to go get some punch. Dancing really takes a lot outta you. Come on, Tay."

Troy turned his attention back to Gabriella. "Hm. Interesting."

"What?" She asked.

"Interesting that Taylor and Chad noticed that kiss."

"I think everyone noticed, Wildcat. I hope that Sharpay won't come over here."

"You know, I don't think that Sharpay approves of 'us'."

"Really? Well, I don't think that could quite stop me from kissing you." Gabriella smiled a little at the forwardness that she had just used. Troy really did bring out a side of her that didn't really exist.

* * *

"I have no idea what he sees in her." Sharpay said over the music to Charlotte, one of the drama club girls. Ryan was standing near.

"I don't know. She's pretty cool. I've gotten to know her at rehearsals."

"Repeat." Sharpay said.

"Well, she's managed to make a few friends in the drama department as well as some of the athletes and the braniacs. She gets straight A's. She sings and acts. She's getting pretty popular." What she said earned on of Sharpay's "If looks could kill" glare.

"Well, I get good grades if you don't count history, science, English, and math. I have been a singer and actress for all of my life. And my fashion is enough to make Madonna jealous." She looked once again at Troy and Gabriella. "He'll get over her soon enough." Her mind was working at a rate that made Ryan and Charlotte nervous.

* * *

Taylor was over at Gabriella's house to help her decide what she would wear for her date with Troy. After going through numerous outfits, she decided to wear her silky ice blue blouse and her white ruffled skirt. To finish it off, she put a tiny blue barrette in her hair. "What do you think?" She asked Taylor.

"Very cute. Good choice." Taylor responded with positivism. "What time is he coming?"

As if on cue, the doorbell rang twice. "Does that answer your question?" Gabriella asked giggling.

Gabriella came down the stairs and saw Troy standing with her mother. He was wearing faded jeans and a red polo shirt that made his sparkling blue eyes even more mesmerizing than they already were. In his hands, he held a bouquet of lilies and roses.

"Hey, Gabriella." Troy felt like he was in a trance as he stared at her till she reached him. He handed her the flowers as they were walking out the front door.

"Have fun, Gabby." Her mother called out. "Don't stay out too late."

Troy led her out to the car and opened the door for her to get inside. "You look beautiful." He said as he closed the door. He made his way to the driver's side and drove.

"So where are we going?" She asked.

"Just wait and see. It's a surprise." He added simply.

As they were driving, Gabriella noticed that they were on the road that led to the school. In fact, he had suddenly stopped right in front of the school.

_Why would Troy bring us here?_ She thought.

He saw the confused look on her face and quickly explained.

"Now before you say anything, just follow me." He took her hand and led her through the empty hallways to their hideout. Their rooftop garden. She saw that he had set up candles all around. A blanket was spread out. He led her to their picnic-slash-candlelight dinner for two "Thanks for not saying anything." He pointed out.

"It's…it's beautiful, Troy." She replied. He led her over to the blanket.

"But you don't think that going here for our first date was…not romantic?" Troy said.

"Troy, I wouldn't have cared if we were at Sharpay's house with her there." She stopped herself, "Well, okay, maybe not that far. What I'm trying to say is that wherever you take me doesn't matter as long as I'm with you." She replied.

"Okay. Well, that makes me feel better about this whole thing."

They had the traditional peanut butter-and-jelly sandwiches and chocolate covered strawberries for their dinner. Troy got up and went to get something. When Troy returned, he held his acoustic guitar and sat next to her.

"I didn't know that you played the guitar." She pointed out.

"Just a little hobby of mine. I thought that I'd play a song for you. It's…um…by Ben Harper. It's the song, 'Waiting on an Angel'. I haven't exactly done this before, so don't laugh at me when I make a mistake." He took a breath and started to play and sing.

_**Waiting on an Angel**_

_**Want to carry me home**_

_**Hope you come see me soon**_

_**Cuz' I don't wanna walk alone**_

_**I don't wanna go alone**_

_**Now, Angel, won't you come by me**_

_**Angel, hear my plea**_

_**Take my hand lift me up**_

_**So that I can fly with thee**_

_**So that I can fly with thee**_

_**And I'm waiting on an angel**_

_**And I know it won't be long**_

_**To find myself a resting place**_

_**In my angel's arms**_

_**My angel's arms**_

The music combined with his voice made Gabriella want to be the only one that he'd sing to. His voice was so mesmerizing! She wished that they could just stay there forever.

_**So be kind to a stranger**_

_**Cuz' you'll never know**_

_**It just might be an angel**_

_**Oh, knocking at your door**_

_**Oh, knocking at your door**_

_**And I'm waiting on an angel**_

_**And I know it won't be long**_

_**To find myself a resting place**_

_**In my angel's arms**_

_**My angel's arms**_

_**Waiting on an angel**_

_**Want to carry me home**_

_**Hope you come see me soon**_

_**Cuz' I don't wanna go alone**_

_**Don't wanna go **_

_**I don't wanna go alone**_

When he stopped, Gabriella was speechless. It was the most beautiful thing she had ever heard in her entire life. If the only thing she could hear was Troy's voice, she knew that she would be content. It took her a few moments, but she finally found her voice. "Troy, that was the most beautiful thing I have ever heard in my entire life!"

"Thanks. I chose it for a specific reason. I have been waiting on an angel, and I'm pretty sure I found her."

Gabriella blushed, and quickly changed the subject by saying, "I did not know that you could play like that. I thought that you had never sung before."

"Actually, I said that singing on stage with you was the first time I'd ever done something like that. I've sang to myself a few times in the shower, who hasn't? And I've sung along to my favorite songs, but I never really thought that I was any good. I've never sang in front of my parents before. I guess I never really thought about it. It never really mattered until now…until you. It's just one more thing for us to keep to ourselves."

"Well, at least until the musical." She pointed out.

"Well, we could keep the guitar a secret." He said hopeful.

"Alright," she said reluctantly. "But I'm still telling Taylor."

"Well, I have one more thing in store for tonight." He got up and held his hand out to her. "Can I have this dance?" He asked.

"Troy, we danced yesterday. Plus there's no music." She laughed.

"Please?" he pleaded.

She couldn't resist when he did that. She smiled and took his hand. He pulled her close to him; and she laid her head on his shoulder. He suddenly started to quietly sing to her. She giggled and continued to sway to the music that was coming from Troy. She wished once again that they could stay there forever.

Every once in a while, they'd look into each other's eyes. Chocolate brown ones gazing at crystal blue ones. Gabriella and Troy could gaze into each other's eyes forever. He stopped singing, but they didn't stop dancing. Getting caught up into the moment, Troy brushed a curl away from Gabriella's face and leaned down to kiss her. His hands were against the back of her head, and her arms were twined about his neck pulling him closer to her until his lips touched hers.

They pulled away. And Troy sang for a few more moments. When Troy stopped singing, he noticed that it was about time that he got her home. They made their way through the hallways to the car. While they were on their way, Gabriella asked Troy a question.

"How long has Sharpay liked you?"

"Um…since the sixth grade. I think." He answered, not understanding how this had anything to do with their date.

"Wow. She's persistent."

"You have no idea. She's done so many horrifying things, it's not even funny." Troy said, shuddering at the thought of past memories. "There's a reason she's the co-president of the drama club. She is so crazy and goes all-out as I'm sure you've noticed her choice of wardrobe. So many colors and sparkles and..." He shuddered. "There was this one incident with a rubber chicken, and she…" he stopped himself. "Nevermind. Anyways, what does this have anything to do with us?"

"Well, I was just thinking that a lot of the girls at East High are in love with you. They've probably known you since you were younger, but you—" Gabriella stopped for a moment feeling shy.

"I fall hard for the girl I've known for a few weeks." He finished for her. She nodded. "You're right. They're probably going to be really angry. Have you noticed the guys that just completely stare at you?"

She laughed, "Really. I haven't noticed."

"Oh really. You haven't been paying attention."

"It's more that I don't really care what other guys do. I already have my own guy." She said.

"Well, he's lucky. You are gorgeous."

"Kissing up, Bolton."

"Yes, Montez. Yes, I am." He said.

She laughed and then stopped. "Do you think that Sharpay will still try to get you to like her?" She asked shyly.

"I don't know. But we are talking about the Drama Queen here. She's unpredictable. I was surprised at how she took the 'Twinkle Town' thing. She didn't throw a temper or anything. No one's beaten her out since kindergarten."

"That's what Taylor said." She told him.

"Well, she'll just have to deal with the show, and she'll have to deal with us. I intend to take you out again. But that reminds me, since Ms. Darbus made her your understudy, please try not to miss a show. I don't think I could give her the satisfaction of being able to kiss me. Whether it's on-stage or off. So please. The only person I'd feel comfortable kissing in front of an audience would be you."

Gabriella blushed and looked out the window to see that they had arrived at her house.

"Come on," he said, "I'll walk you to the door."

Troy opened her car door for her and led her to the front door. He admired the house. He'd only seen it once when he came to apologize to Gabriella that time they almost drifted apart no thanks to their friends. He had been too preoccupied to notice all the ivy that was on the walls. They arrived at the front door.

"Troy, thank you. I had an amazing time." Gabriella said.

"It was my pleasure. I had an equally great time. We need to do it another time."

"Okay…"She lost her train of thought, as Troy bent his head down to kiss her. She cherished the few seconds that the kiss lasted, before he pulled away and went back to his car.

* * *

"Gabi, how was it?" Ms. Montez asked her daughter.

"It was great, Mom. He's really sweet." Gabriella smiled at the thought of Troy. "But I think I'm going to go upstairs. I'm tired. I think I'm going to call Taylor before I go to bed though." She added.

"All right, Mija. I'm glad that you had a good time. Good night. I love you." She kissed Gabriella's head.

"Love you too, Mom. Good night."

Gabriella made her way upstairs. She reached her bedroom and pulled out her cell phone to call Taylor.

"Hey, Taylor," She greeted.

"Finally! I was wondering if you'd forgotten to call me. Okay, what happened? Tell me everything." She demanded.

"Hello to you too."

"Hi."

"Okay, well, first he gave me a bouquet of lilies and roses, and then-" She was cut off by another question from Taylor.

"Where did you guys go?" She asked excitedly.

"Well, don't interrupt I'm getting to that."

"Sorry, please continue." Taylor said.

"Okay, well he took me to the school, and-"

"Why'd he take you to the school?" Taylor asked shocked.

"Stop that! I swear. What is it with you and Chad with timing. Anyways, he took me to the school because that's where we had dinner. He took me up to the-" Gabriella stopped herself before she revealed her and Troy's secret hiding place, but then she was reminded that Taylor already knew, since Chad, Jason, and Zeke had apologized to Troy up there. She continued. "He took me to the rooftop garden, and he set up a picnic with candles. It was really sweet."

"You didn't care that it was at the school?" Taylor asked surprised.

"Should I have?" Gabriella replied. "It didn't matter where I was, as long as I was with him."

"All right. Continue." Taylor urged.

"Well, he then got his guitar out and played a song for me."

"Ooo, which song?"

"'Waiting on an Angel' by Ben Harper."

"Did he sing too?" Taylor asked intrigued.

"Yes, he sang too. After, he asked me to dance with him. There was no music, so he sang the song himself."

"Awww, that's so sweet." Taylor said impressed.

"Yeah, he was." Gabriella agreed. "I don't know what I did to deserve him."

"Well, tomorrow do you and Troy want to hang out at the mall with the rest of the gang?"

"That sounds great. Count me in."

"Okay. I think that Chad was going to call Troy after you guys were done with your date."

"Well, we'll know soon enough. Once Chad knows, the whole world will know."

"Very, very true." Taylor agreed.

* * *

"Hey, what's up, Chad?" Troy asked his best friend.

"Hey, Hoops, how did the date go?" Troy remained silent. "That well huh?" Chad said.

"Yeah. It went really, really well."

"Are you going to leave me to guess all the details?"

"Dude, do you have to know everything that goes on in my life? And since when do you care about this stuff? Have you been watching your mom's soap operas again?" he accused.

"That was only once, and I only wanted to know if Alejandro and Diana confessed their undying love for each other. It turns out that Alejandro was actually an evil twin. Michael is actually the one twin that loves Diana, but Alejandro locked him in a wine cellar before he could do it. It's such a cliff hangar."

"Dude, just stop. I wonder why you aren't an actor. You are just as dramatic as Sharpay sometimes."

"Troy, never, _ever _say that again. Now tell me what you did for her, or I'll just call Taylor and get what I need from her. She's probably already talked to Gabs."

"Fine. Well, I brought her to the rooftop garden for a candlelight picnic."

"The rooftop of the school?" Chad asked.

"No, Chad, the rooftop of the Empire State Building." Troy answered sarcastically.

"Hoops, I've had enough sarcasm in this world to last me a lifetime. I get it everyday from Taylor and Sharpay. I do not need it from you."

"Sorry. You just make it so difficult sometimes. I swear you are the most oblivious person in this world."

"Enough with the comments. Continue."

"And I took out my guitar and played for her, and we danced. That's it."

"Well, those weren't very good details. I guess I'll just have to call Taylor after all. Oh, that reminds me. The rest of the gang is going to the mall tomorrow. Are you game?"

"Is Gabi going?"

"Taylor should be inviting her, so probably."

"Count me in."

"Cool. I'll call Taylor."

* * *

If you were to walk into the Albuquerque mall located in downtown Albuquerque and were to see a bunch of teens goofing around and having a great time with each other, it was probably this particular group of Wildcats.

Troy and Gabriella were walking hand-in-hand. Chad, Jason, and Zeke were stuck carrying the Taylor, Martha, and Kelsi's items that they had bought in various stores.

"Hey, Brie, come here." Troy brought her over to a photo booth. "Want to take some pictures with me?"

"Sure." Gabriella said. "We'll meet you guys at the food court."

"Okay. Don't take too long." Chad teased.

"Come on, Chad." Taylor said, pulling him along.

Troy and Gabriella entered the photo booth, both happy that they got a few minutes together. Five minutes later, they were making their way back to the food court with their newly acquired pictures. They were pointing to their favorites when they reached the food court. They quickly found their friends and sat down.

"That one's my favorite." Troy said pointing to the picture that had captured Troy as he kissed Gabriella.

"I really liked that one too."

"Troy!" Someone yelled. Everyone winced. They knew the voice only too well.

"Hey, Sharpay." Troy greeted.

"Hi. What are you doing here?" It was obvious that she was only acknowledging Troy.

"Well, I'm just hanging out with Gabriella and my here."

"Oh, yes. Hello…friends. And Gabriella." Sharpay said.

"What are you doing here, Ice Queen?" Chad asked giving Jason a high five.

"Well, if you must know, Hair Boy, I'm shopping for my trip to Paris in a few weeks. But I must be going. I need at last eight more pairs of shoes. Toodles."

Everybody watched as Sharpay walked off. Zeke spoke up, "Isn't she something?" He said in an awed voice. Everyone turned to him.

* * *


	5. Chapter 5: Future Love

Disclaimer: I do not own High School Musical or the songs.

* * *

Chapter 5: Future Love

_Baby, if they ask me_

_I would say "I don't even know your name"_

_And when they ask me "Does it change?"_

"_No, it don't change a thing."_

_Cuz' there's just something 'bout the way you'll love me_

_There's just something 'bout the way you'll know me_

_That I can't explain enough_

_There's just something 'bout future love_

* * *

Zeke spoke up, "Isn't she something?" He said in an awed voice. Everyone turned to him.

"Dude, are you kidding me?! Sharpay?! Have you lost your mind?!" Chad asked in an I-can-believe-you tone.

"What?"

"Dude, when we mention her name, you're supposed to creep out with us, not get that smile on your face." Chad said.

"Well, just think about guys. She's hot, acts, sings like an angel, and she loves my cookies. She's perfect."

"Yeah, but she's also self-absorbed, a drama queen, not to mention, she's been after Troy since sixth grade." Jason said. "And did you just not hear her say that she has to go shopping for _eight _more pairs of shoes? Eight! I seriously doubt that you could handle that."

"I'm just lucky. I haven't given in to her charm. I'm a lot stronger than someone at this table." Troy said, and everyone turned to Zeke again. "I wouldn't be caught dead dating her."

"Well, who have you dated before, Troy?" Gabriella asked intrigued.

"Are you kidding me, Gabs? He focused on basketball and basketball alone. Let me tell you about my boy here." Chad said.

**_Begin Flashback_**

"_Troy!" An eight-year-old Chad called out. "Catch!"_

_Troy caught the basketball that Chad had passed to him. He was in a two-on-two game with Chad, Jason, and Zeke. Zeke was defending the basket, but it was no use against eight-year-old Troy's advanced b-ball moves. Troy drove the ball around him and sunk the ball into the basket._

"_Yeah! That's what I'm talking about!" Chad said. "We won."_

"_Yeah!" Troy said high fiving his best friend._

"_Well…" Jason was about to say something but stopped. "Never mind. You guys are too good."_

"_Hey, kids it's time to go to the Red Hawks' game!" Mr. Bolton called to them. "Get in the car!"_

_All four boys ran to the front yard to the car. Today they were going to the opening game of the Red Hawks' season, and they were excited that they could all go together to see their favorite team kick butt._

_It wasn't a long drive to the U of A gym. In fact, if the future Wildcat team were forced to find their own way to the gym, they would've had no problem finding it. They knew it like the back of their hand. Chad and Troy had been going to U of A games since they had first been able to pick up a basketball. Zeke had moved to Albuquerque and joined the group when they were seven, and Jason had only come a few months before, but was already as close to them as if they had known each other their whole lives. The eight-year-olds were talking excitedly all the way there. They were talking about their favorite players and if the visiting team would even stand a chance against their team._

_Jack Bolton and Charlie Danforth looked back at the boys behind them and enjoyed listening to what they were talking about. Jack and Charlie loved it when they were able to go to U of A games with the boys. Zeke and Jason had been accepted as part of the family. Their parents were close with each other. Jacob Cross and Mark Baylor had no problem with Jack and Charlie taking their boys to basketball games. Jack and Charlie treated Jason and Zeke as sons just like Jacob and Mark treated Troy and Chad as sons. It was a very smooth relationship that they shared between the four families. They did everything together. They went to dinner together; they went to parent teacher meetings; and they went to basketball games together. This is when most of the wives decided that they would stay out however. The dads didn't care. They saw it as a way to bond with their boys._

_Once they arrived, Troy, Chad, Jason, and Zeke could barely contain their excitement. Jack being U of A alumni had managed to get courtside seats for the season and the boys were ecstatic. They were wearing their favorite player's Red Hawks' jerseys. Once they had their snacks and sat down in their seats, the game was about to get underway._

"_And this is the opening game of the season. Your U of A Red Hawks against the UC Berkeley Bears."_

_Troy, Chad, Jason, and Zeke booed at the name of the visiting team. _

"_In the last season, the UC Berkeley was able to kick the U of A Red Hawks out of the playoffs. Today, the Red Hawks are ready to return the favor. Your starting line for your U of A Red Hawks is: Number 17 Junior Sean Carter! Number 23 Senior Shane Harper! Number 32 Senior David Huff! Number 8 Senior Roger Malaga! And your team captain Number 14 Junior Jaymz Tuaileva!"_

_The boys stood up and cheered for their favorite players along with the rest of the Red Hawks fans in the gym._

"_And your line up for UC Berkeley: Number 9 Freshmen Andrew Winston! Number 56 Senior Craig Derosa! Number 7 Sophomore Hefa Tuita! Number 24 Junior Danny Axley! And their team captain Number 45 Senior Nick Lanzisera!"_

_A group of people located close to the court started to cheer. They were the only fans there. Chad scoffed at them._

"_Let's get this game started! And there's the tip-off! Albuquerque with the ball! Huff passes the ball to Tuaileva, and Tuaileva goes up with the shot and two points for Red Hawks!"_

_The game was going back-and-forth between the teams; U of A would make a shot only to have Berkeley make one. But near the end of the fourth quarter, Berkeley got a foul and made one of the free throws. They were up by one._

"_This game is intense! The Bears have just scored and are one point ahead of the Red Hawks! Bears are in possession of the ball. The Red Hawks have called a timeout and have time to make one more play. Let's see what Tuaileva has up his sleeve."_

"_Come on, Tuaileva. You can do it." Troy said to himself._

"_And the Bears bring the ball down the court. Axley looks for an open man…Oh and it's stolen by Number 14! He's headed back the other way! Red Hawks have the ball! Time is running down the clock! Looking for an open man. Fake. Gets to the outside; ball to perimeter. Looks for a man on the inside. Nice Screen The shot is up…and it's good! The last point as the clock expires for the win! Red Hawks win the opening game against Berkeley!"_

_**End Flashback**_

"So, Gabs, Troy has been focused on basketball since we were kids." Chad said.

"What does that have to do with girls and dating?" Taylor asked.

"Well, it's what happened after the game." Chad said.

_**Flashback**_

"_Yeah!" Troy yelled. "He did it! Tuaileva did it!"_

"_Yeah. Did you see that screen that my boy Malaga set for him?" Chad asked._

"_That's only because my man Harper was able to help out." Jason insisted._

"_Well, Tuaileva only made that shot because Huff passed it to him on the inside." Zeke said._

"_Troy?" A voice said behind him. They turned around._

"_Hey, Sarah." Troy said._

"_I didn't know that you were here." Sarah said._

"_Um…yes you did. Remember. You asked us what we were doing on the weekend." Chad reminded her._

"_Whatever. I still didn't expect to find you here at the game. I didn't even know that you were sitting here."_

"_Who took you, Sarah?" Jason asked._

"_My parents. They're up there." Sarah pointed to her parents. They did take her to the game, but since it was so last minute, their seats were in the very furthest corner of the stadium._

"_Didn't know where we were sitting, huh?" Chad said._

"_No, I didn't. But can I help it if you guys appear on the screen?" She asked innocently. "So, Troy, did you enjoy the game?" She asked flirtatiously for an eight-year-old._

"_Yeah. It was great. Did you notice how Tuaileva pulled that last shot off?"_

"_Who?" Sarah asked._

"_You know, Tuaileva. The guy who shot the last point." Troy said._

"_Oh. Him. Yeah. I guess."_

"_He knew how to steal the ball at the exact right time." Troy said absolutely fascinated._

"_But I still say that Malaga's screen just made it happen." Chad insisted once again, and their whole argument started over again._

_**End Flashback**_

"Okay, Chad, how is it that you remember every single detail of one day for _one _Red Hawks game and the numbers and names of the players of _each _team, but you can't remember what Ms. Darbus taught us on Friday." Taylor asked.

"My brain contains a specific area reserved for basketball memories."

"Hey, aren't four of the starting players your numbers?" Kelsi asked.

"Yeah." Zeke said. "Harper was Number 23, and he was Jason's favorite; Huff was Number 32, and he was mine; Malaga was Number 8 and Chad's person; and Tuaileva was Number 14 and Troy's favorite."

"Why was he your favorite?" Gabriella asked.

"Well, he was the first ever sophomore to make starting line up, and he was only a junior when he was voted team captain."

"Hey, I just realized something." Taylor said. "The way they won, is exactly how you guys one the championships."

"Hey, you're right." Jason said nodding his head. "Wait, what?"

"Ugh. Jason." Everyone sighed.

"What?"

"All right. I will say this slowly. The way that the Red Hawks won that game, was the exact same way you Wildcats won the championship this year."

"Oh. Well, why didn't you say so in the first place?" Jason said.

"I guess we paid more attention to them than I thought." Troy said.

"Anyways, you guys didn't see Sarah the rest of the game?" Martha asked.

"Nope. By the time we had settled the argument, we were already on our way home. But I still think that Malaga helped." Chad said again.

"No way it was totally Harper-" Jason was cut off.

"We are _not _going to have this argument all over again." Troy said, and they stopped.

"So what's the deal with Sharpay?" Gabriella asked.

"Oh. I can totally answer that." Chad said. And he took them to another memory. "It was sixth grade and Troy, Jason, Zeke, and I were going to the circus. Sharpay had just started liking Troy."

_**Flashback**_

_Jacob Cross and Mark Baylor were taking the eleven-year-old boys to the circus that was in town for one day. They started walking around and looking at all the stuff that interested them. They looked a man who could blow spout fire out of his mouth, and they saw a person who they couldn't decide if it was a man or a woman, and they saw a man with two hooks for hands. After a few hours of wandering, it was time for the main event to start. Before they were even able to get seated, a familiar voice crashed the party._

"_Troy!"_

_They turned around and found a pink, sparkle clad Sharpay with Ryan in tow. Their servant Mandy had brought them since their parents were away on business._

"_Hey…Sharpay." Troy greeted politely._

"_Hey! Would you mind if I sat next to you?" Sharpay asked._

_Troy looked at his friends. Their heads were shaking vigorously._

"_Sure." He said. The boys all groaned. The last thing that they needed was the sixth grade drama queen to put a damper on their day._

_Chad leaned close to Jason and Zeke and whispered, "She couldn't wait to torture us on Monday?" Both boys laughed at the joke, unfortunately he didn't say it quietly enough._

"_What was that, Hair Boy?" Sharpay said._

"_Nothing, Drama Queen." Chad said with a smirk on his face._

"_Really." Sharpay said._

"_Yup." Chad turned and gave Jason and Zeke high fives._

"_So, Troy, what have you been doing throughout the day?" Sharpay asked._

"_Well, we've been walking around and seeing all the circus acts." Troy said._

"_Really. That's really cool. Oh the show is starting." Sharpay and Troy stopped talking._

"_Good afternoon, Ladies and Gentlemen! I am Ringmaster El Magnifico! Our circus family is very happy that so many of you have turned up to see our show. Oh look. Here comes one of the family now. Please welcome, Bongo the clown and his band!" The audience cheered._

_Troy looked over and saw a pale faced Sharpay. It was apparent that she was frightened of the makeup wearing jesters. She tried to find comfort in him, by hiding behind his shoulder, but being an eleven year old, he didn't want to help her in that kind of way._

_Throughout the act, she grew more and more pale. Before he knew what was happening, he saw a flash of pink run into the ring and grab a rubber chicken from one of the clowns and started beating every single clown in the ring. Troy, Chad, Jason, and Zeke entertained at first saw how she hit every clown with more and more accuracy and grew more and more afraid for the clowns' lives. Along with her piercing screams and war cries, the sight was frightening to see. Ryan and Mandy had to run into the ring to stop Sharpay. She was kicking and screaming on the way out. She still had the rubber chicken in her hand while they were dragging her out._

_**End flashback**_

"Wow." Gabriella said. "So that's what happened with the rubber chicken."

"Yup." Troy said. "It was the scariest thing my eleven-year-old mind had ever witnessed."

"Now that I think about it, she was really cute while she was beating up those clowns." Said Zeke.

"Shut up, Zeke." Chad said. "Just shut up. Need I remind you of the incident in middle school?"

_**Flashback**_

_It was nearing the end of basketball season. This would be the last game that Troy, Chad, Jason, and Zeke would ever play in middle school. It was their last game as the Eastside Hawks It was against their rivals, the Westside Shocks. The game was underway. Everyone came to support the Eastside Hawks against their rivals. Troy, Chad, Jason, and Zeke's parents were in the stands cheering them on with signs and confetti._

"_All right, guys. We've been waiting for this moment. This is our moment to shine." A thirteen-year-old team captain Troy encouraged. "We can beat these guys."_

"_You're right, Troy. Who are we?" Chad screamed._

"_Hawks!" The team replied. Even then, they were the essence of team spirit._

_Unfortunately, Sharpay had turned up for the last part of the game. The Shocks were behind by two points. This week she had been trying especially hard to earn Troy's affections. The Sadie Hawkins' dance was coming up, and she was determined to have Troy as her date. She brought her brother along. She watched Troy as she was deciding when the best time to ask him would be. She ran down to where he was. But the moment she had chosen to ask him was when Eastside had the ball, and Troy was open for a three to win the game. He was just about to put it up at the very last millisecond before he was knocked over by none other than a person dressed from head to toe in pink. They lost._

"_Troy, would you be my date to the Sadie Hawkins' dance?" Sharpay asked._

_**End Flashback**_

"We lost the game, and she still had the nerve to ask Troy, but he said 'no', of course." Chad said shaking his head. "I still can't believe that the refs didn't call anything on that. It was a total interference."

"Well, there's nothing we can do about it now. Besides we've repaid Alan Salazar. Didn't you see his face when I made that last shot at the championship?" Troy asked.

"Yeah. That was pretty sweet." Zeke agreed.

"Anyways, back to my first point. See, Gabs, Troy hasn't dated. He was too into basketball. And then when his dad started coaching us, it's just been really tough. He always expects Troy to pull of these amazing stunts."

"I didn't realize that you had a soft spot, Chad." Troy said.

"I may be like this, Troy, but you're my best friend. There's always a soft spot for ya." Chad said. "I always know when you want me to back off of something." Troy looked at him. "Most of the time." He gave him another look. "All right. It takes me a few times for me to figure it out. But in the end, I do back off, and you do get your way. Okay?"

"Okay. Remember when you first heard that I turned down a girl?" Troy asked.

_**End Flashback**_

_Chad came running through the hall to Troy's locker. There were some people talking to him, but Chad ignored them as he made his way over to his best friend. "Dude, is it true?" He asked Troy pushing his way through the circle of people surrounding him._

"_Okay, guys, I'll see you later." The ring of people melted into the crowded hall. "What's true, Chad?" Troy asked opening up his locker._

"_Is it true that Mollee Gray asked you out?" _

"_Yeah. Why?"_

"_Yeah. That's my boy." Chad said. Chad had been waiting a long time to here that. Troy's dad made him focus on basketball for the past two years, so he didn't really have time to date. Now that he had secured the team captain title, he was open to date._

"_Woah, woah, Chad, slow down. Yeah she asked me out, but I said, 'no'."_

"_What?! Why in your right mind would you say no?! She's hot; she's the head cheerleader; and she never dates anyone that's not on the football team. Why did you say no?"_

"_You wouldn't get it, Man." Troy said._

"_Oh, yeah? Try me."_

"_There's another girl." Troy said reluctantly._

"_What? What other girl? How come you haven't told me about her before? What's her name?" Chad asked hurriedly._

_Troy rubbed the back of his neck, "I don't know."_

"_Her name is 'I Don't Know'?" Chad asked._

"_No, Chad, I don't know her name."_

"_What? Then how do you know that there's another girl?" Chad asked._

"_I just do."_

"_And it doesn't change the fact that you don't know who it is."_

"_I don't know who she is; I don't know what she looks like, but there's just another girl. It's just this gut feeling that I have. I'll know her when I see her. Don't ask me how. I just will. When I know, I'll ask her out. Just call it future love. Trust me."_

"_All right. I'll trust you."_

_**End Flashback**_

"Oh, yeah. I forgot about that memory. See, Gabs. Even more proof from your man here. He'd only ask the girl out if he really, really liked her."

"Well, I feel very privileged." Gabriella said, taking his hand into hers.

"Guys, sorry to break up this moment, I don't know about you, but I think I'm in the mood to eat." Jason said.

They had gotten so caught up in the flashbacks and Sharpay that they hadn't gotten any food.

They were all in the mood for pizza. They decided that they would head over to the pizza parlor near East High. It wasn't far from the mall.

"Okay, Tay, what do you want?" Chad asked when they arrived.

"Black olives and mushrooms." She replied immediately.

"I should've known. I cannot believe that you like that stuff. Pepperoni and sausage for me any day."

Troy laughed at the odd pair. He couldn't understand how they could stand each other. They were like oil and water, like night and day. They disagreed about most everything. "What'll it be, Gabi?" Troy asked. He grew fond of the nickname that he had given her. He knew that technically is wasn't even _his_ nickname for her. Her mom and Taylor already called her that. Chad already had _his _nickname for her. He made a mental note to give her one.

"I think I'll have my regular." Gabriella said.

"Pepperoni-pineapple-combo." Troy and Gabriella said in unison.

"You guys should not do that." Chad said.

"What?" They asked simultaneously.

"That."

"Why?" They asked once again in unison.

"Because it is so creepy." Chad said.

"Well, we can't…" Troy began.

"Help it." Gabriella finished his sentence.

"You guys are officially creeping me out. How do you that?" Chad asked. "First the talking at the same time part and then the finishing of the sentences."

"I don't know. It just…"Gabriella started.

"Happens." Troy finished for her.

"Wow." Taylor said. "Are you sure that you've only been together for a few days? It's more like you've been dating for a few years. You two haven't been dating for more than a week, and you're already talking in unison and finishing each other's sentences."

"And that what creeps me out." Chad said.

"Chad, just stop." Taylor said. "A lot of things creep you out."

"Oh, yeah like what?" Chad asked challenging her.

"Sharpay." Taylor simply said.

"Okay, you got me on that one. But you can't name anything else."

"Ms. Darbus and Amy Locke." Taylor named them off in less than five seconds.

"Amy Locke?" Gabriella asked curiously.

"It's no one." Chad insisted. "She's no one."

"Amy Locke is a cheerleader who Chad took out a year ago. The date didn't end well. She dumped her soda on him and screamed at him." Troy explained.

"And why does she creep you out?" Gabriella asked.

"Her scream is the most piercing, scary… It beats Sharpay. I'll leave it at that."

"Ah. That about sums it up." Gabriella said.

"Yeah." Chad agreed.

"Oh. Don't forget poetry." Troy added.

"Poetry?" Taylor and Gabriella asked next.

"That is a different story." Chad said.

* * *

Author's Note: I hope that you guys enjoyed that little bit of the boy's childhood. I particularly liked writing this chapter. I hope that it was okay. Little fun fact. The names of the basketball players and the 3rd girl mentioned in the flashbacks were all names of principle dancers from High School Musical. Just thought you'd like to know. Thanks again. Please review. They're really helpful and encourage me to write more.


	6. Chapter 6: Cinderella

Disclaimer: I do not own HSM

* * *

Chapter 6: Cinderella

_So I will dance with Cinderella_

_While she is here in my arms_

_Cuz' I know something the prince never knew_

_Ohhh I will dance with Cinderella_

_I don't wanna miss even one song_

_Cuz' all too soon the clock will strike midnight_

_And she'll be gone_

* * *

"Hey, Gabi. So what's your story?" Chad asked after they had finished eating their pizzas.

"You guys really want to hear my story?" Gabriella asked.

"Yeah, we don't know a thing about you and your life before East High." Chad said.

"Well, to be honest it wasn't really all that. Like I said to Troy and the girls, I didn't really have much of a life before coming here. Not counting East High, I've gone to eight schools and have moved every summer for the past five years."

"Please." Chad said.

Gabriella sighed and started her story. "Well, I was born in New York City, New York."

"Really? So you've been to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island?" Taylor asked excitedly.

"Sadly, no. We moved right after I was born to Seattle, Washington."

"How many places have you lived exactly?"

"Counting Albuquerque?..." Gabriella looked up at the ceiling while she tried to count all the places she had been in her head. "Eighteen."

"Eighteen?!" They all asked in unison.

"Yeah. I know." Gabriella agreed.

"Can you name all of the places that you've lived?" Jason asked.

"New York City, New York; Seattle, Washington; Juneau, Alaska; Salt Lake City, Utah; Atlanta, Georgia; Richmond, Virginia; Cape Cod, Maine; Denver, Colorado; Chicago, Illinois; Washington D.C.; New Orleans, Louisiana; Honolulu, Hawaii; Tampa Bay, Florida; Detroit, Michigan; Houston, Texas; San Diego, California; and Albuquerque."

The gang was silent and amazed at the same time. Suddenly they all started asking questions simultaneously.

"Have you visited the White House?"

"Did you meet any celebrities while you lived in California?"

"Have you watched the Detroit Pistons play?"

"Was the music good at New Orleans?"

"Did you live in an igloo with the Eskimos?"

"Have you been to Pearl Harbor?"

"Woah. Woah. Hold it!" Gabriella told them. They all silenced their questions. "One at a time, guys. I can answer questions fast but not that fast. Jason."

"Did you live in an igloo with the Eskimos?" He asked pleased that he was the first one to ask a question.

"No. We lived in a house in the city. Juneau is just like Albuquerque except a lot colder. But we were able to go dog sledding. But I was really little, so I don't remember all the details. Taylor."

"Did you visit the White House?"

"Yes. I went when I was in the fifth grade. I went with my school. It was one of the most amazing experiences I've ever had. I've also been to the Smithsonian, the Lincoln and Iwo Jima Memorial, and Ford's theatre." Taylor was impressed. "Zeke."

"Have you watched the Detroit Pistons play?"

"I went to one game. It was pretty cool. We got court side seats."

"Sweet." He replied.

"All right. Martha."

"Have you been to Pearl Harbor?"

"Yeah. It was great. I got to see the _Arizona_. It was amazing. It's really humbling to see how many men and women died to protect our freedom." Everybody nodded. "Kelsi."

"Did you enjoy the music while you lived in New Orleans?"

"I guess. There were a few street performers on the way to school and all through downtown. Chad."

"Did you meet any celebrities while you were in California?"

"I almost met Angelina Jolie. But that's as close as I got to any celebrities."

"Awesomeness." Chad said. "So have you been to the happiest place on Earth?"

"Disneyland? Yeah. It was cool." Gabriella looked at everyone around the table and noticed that one person didn't ask one question. "You don't have an interesting question for me, Wildcat?"

Troy was thinking. He had been sitting silently listening to everyone. He was impressed that she had lived and visited so many places and all, but there was a specific question that had been nagging at the back of his mind since he met her. "I do have a question, but it has nothing to do with the subject that we're on right now. Well…it has a little bit to do with it, but not really."

"Hoops, just spit it out." Chad said.

"Well…Gabi…um…I know that your mom works for companies and all, but um…where is your dad?" The realization hit everyone. The table went silent, and Gabriella just sat there. Troy broke the silence and spoke up. "Sorry." He apologized. "It's not my place to-"

Gabriella cut him off. "No. It's all right, Troy. You guys are my best friends, you deserve to know." She paused. "He died the summer when I was eight." She stared at the table while she spoke. The table remained silent. Troy was the first to recover.

"I'm sorry, Gabi. I didn't know."

"It's fine, Troy." She went silent for a minute before continuing. "My dad and I were really close." Silence engulfed the table as everyone gave Gabriella their undivided attention. "Since my mom was always getting moved around, he didn't want me to have to deal with going to one school for a short period of time just to be pulled out months later, so he home-schooled me. He loved math and science. I guess that's where I got it from. He taught me to love to learn. He always told me that there was always something to learn." She paused and thought about what else she could tell them about the wonderful man that had loved her.

"Since my mom worked a lot, he would always spend as much time with me as possible. Once we tried to bake a cake for my mom's birthday. We had all the ingredients ready. The cake turned out well, but the kitchen was destroyed. There was cake batter everywhere and flour and the sink was filled with dishes. It was a lot of fun." She laughed at the memory.

"I was always scared of thunderstorms, so whenever there was one, we would sit on the couch and watch 'The Nightmare before Christmas'. On Valentine's Day, he would give me a bouquet of lilies and roses, my favorite flowers, and he would get me a king sized bag of hot cheetos. On my birthday, he would take me ice skating."

Gabriella checked her phone for the time. "Hey, guys, I gotta go. My mom's um…going to be home soon. And I haven't seen her all day. Could you take me home, Troy?" He nodded. "See you guys tomorrow morning."

Troy did what she asked. "Yeah. Sure. See you later, guys."

"Bye, Hoops. Bye Gabs." Chad called out.

Troy and Gabriella went out to the car. When they were on the way to her house, he looked at her questioningly. She didn't return his gaze. She was staring out the window the whole time. He was confused. He knew that her mom wasn't going to be home for at least another hour. Nonetheless, he drove her home without prying for questions as to why she wanted to go home so early. When they got to her house, she said a quick goodbye and told him that she'd see him at school tomorrow before she kissed him on the cheek. Before he could ask her what was bothering her, she shut the car door and went inside the house. He sat there for a minute thinking about what just happened. He started to make his way home and made a mental note to himself to ask her about it later.

* * *

The next day, Albuquerque was expecting a thunderstorm. The sky was covered in clouds. At school Gabriella's mood still hadn't changed. She was distant in all of her classes, and she barely paid attention to her Troy or her friends.

Taylor and Chad were getting worried and asked Troy what happened between the time they left and the ride home. He told them that he didn't know. As far as he knew, nothing happened; she didn't say anything. He didn't know what was wrong. Troy was getting worried. She was acting the way she had been when she and Troy didn't talk for a few days. He drew up all the memories of yesterday. She had been happy at the mall and the pizza parlor until he asked her the question about her dad. But she had said that it was all right that he had asked her. She didn't really start acting different until she had started to tell them all about the memories with her dad. He determined to himself that he would ask her when he drove her home later.

When Troy went to rehearsals, he was surprised to find out from Ms. Darbus that Gabriella had told her that she wasn't feeling well and went home already. They mostly did costume checks and ran through the transitions of the scenes, since the other lead was missing. Kelsi asked Troy about Gabriella, and he gave her the exact same answer that he had given Chad and Taylor. He was getting more worried by the minute. As soon as Ms. Darbus announced that rehearsal was over, Troy took out his cell phone and called her. It rang a few times, and he was relieved when she answered.

"Hey, why weren't you at rehearsals?" Troy asked.

"I wasn't um…feeling well. I just went home on the bus. How were rehearsals?"

"They were fine. We just went over the transitions from scene-to-scene, and we did a costume check."

"That's cool. Hey, Troy, I have to go. I have to finish my homework."

"All right. I'll see you later."

"Okay. Bye."

"Bye."

Gabriella hung up and knew immediately that she would either be getting a call back in the next five minutes, or he was going to show up at her house. She went to her balcony doors and unlocked them. She sat on her bed and grabbed a book and tried to read. She was dreading the events that would happen in the very near future.

* * *

After she hung up, he stared at the receiver. Now he knew something was wrong. She never took more than an hour to do her homework. He went out to his car and drove the down the familiar route to Gabriella's house. The rain was slowly starting to come down. When he reached the house, he put on his hood and ran to the front door and rang the doorbell. No one answered. He rang again. Still nothing. He was just about to go back to his car, when a familiar idea popped into his head. He went around to the back of the house and unlocked the back gate. He made his way to the tree that stood by her balcony and climbed. He tried to remember every branch that he had held onto and stepped on. He made sure that his foot wouldn't slip from the water that had already wet the tree. He made his way over the railing and looked into her balcony doors. When he reached her balcony and looked through the glass doors, he saw that she was sitting on her bed reading a book. He stared at her for a minute. Her face wasn't the happy Gabriella that he knew. He could see anxiety on her face almost as if she knew that he was coming and was afraid. He tried the door handle and was surprised to find it open. When he stepped inside, he took off his jacket and asked, "How did you-"

"I know you." She replied putting the book down. "I figured you'd either call me back or come here."

"Care to tell me why you're acting like this?" Troy asked sitting on her bed.

"Like what?" He gave her a look that told her that she knew exactly what he was talking about. "Not really." She finally said. He was about to protest, but she knew him all too well, despite the fact that they've only known each other for a month; she spoke before he could get anything out. "Why do you want to know?"

"Because, Brie, I care about you."

"Brie?"

"Your new nickname is not important. What's important is that you've been acting weird ever since yesterday at the pizza parlor. I know that you lied to Taylor and Chad and everyone else about going home early because of your mom, and I know that your mom didn't come home till an hour later." She sighed. He knew her too. "Come on, Gabriella. You can tell me. Just tell me what's bothering you." He paused and looked at her. "Was it because I asked about your dad?"

"No! No, Troy." She answered in a rush. "It has nothing to do with you. You didn't do anything."

"Then what is it, Gabriella? Just tell me." He said. It wasn't a command but a plea. "Please, just tell me." He whispered. He kept her gaze.

She sighed. "It was never about you, Troy. You didn't do anything." She repeated before she continued. "I promise that it wasn't you. It was me. Everything was me." She was on the verge of tears. He scooted closer to her.

"What are you talking about?" His hand reached up and stroked her cheek while his other hand held hers. She closed her eyes and leaned into his touch.

She regained control of her emotions and started to talk about the subject that she had been avoiding for eight years. "It was me." She said in a whisper that was barely audible.

"What was you?" Troy asked his voice coaxing her to tell him everything. "You can tell me."

"It's my fault." She said.

"What's your fault, Gabriella?" Troy asked her in a firm voice.

"It's my fault that he died, Troy." She said her voice cracking. Tears were threatening to fall. She looked into his eyes. "It's my fault that my father died."

He caught his breath as she said that last statement. "Gabriella, your father's death is not your fault." He tried to tell her.

"Yes, it is, Troy!" Gabriella lashed out. She realized what she just did; her voice softened. "I'm sorry." She apologized looking down at her hands.

"It's all right. Just tell me." He pleaded to her again. He put his two fingers under her chin to pull her face up so that they were looking into each other's eyes. "Please."

She nodded. "I told you that he died when I was eight; I was little; but I remember every detail." She paused so that she could get her emotions in check before she explained everything else. "It was a Friday night. We lived in Denver at the time. We were coming home from our weekly father-daughter date. We were about five minutes from home when a driver ran a red light and hit us. The next thing I knew, I was in the hospital with two broken ribs and a broken leg. And my dad…" She trailed off. The tears that threatened to fall earlier came down her face.

Troy engulfed the weeping girl into his arms. He didn't know how long they were there. When her sobs had subsided, he pulled back and wiped her remaining tears with his thumbs before he crushed her to him again. He rubbed her back soothingly. "You listen to me, Gabriella. His death was not your fault. It was that idiot who ran the red light's fault. There wasn't anything you could have done to stop it."

She pulled away from him and looked into his eyes once more. "Troy, you don't get it. When the driver ran the red light, he was about to hit my side of the car. My dad swerved the car enough so that he got most of the impact. He died saving me." Her tears started falling again. Troy finally understood. Suddenly the last twenty four hours made sense. He embraced her once again and let her cry. They sat there for what seemed like hours. Troy held her as she cried. He didn't try to stop her; he had a feeling that she had been holding it in since the event occurred. He didn't protest against it. He was happy that she trusted him enough to tell him. "I'm sorry." She said pulling him out of his trance. "I don't mean to dump all of this on you."

"It's okay." He assured her. He wiped her tears with his thumbs again.

"Thank you, Troy. For being here. For helping me with this."

"There's no need to thank me. Just doing the job of the typical boyfriend."

"Are you saying that you're my boyfriend?" She asked.

"Well, yeah. But only if you're saying that you're my girlfriend."

She smiled her first real smile since yesterday. "I guess I am." She smiled again. "Oh. I guess I kind of owe you."

"For what?" He asked.

"I only gave you a kiss on the cheek when I said goodbye yesterday."

He smiled and leaned in to kiss her. It was simple and just what she needed to reassure herself that he was going to be there for her. No matter what. It ended all too soon.

"So are you okay now?" He asked her.

"Yeah. I am."

"So do you visit him?"

"Yeah. Every year on the anniversary. I always go. No matter where I am. He's buried in Denver, Colorado at the Crown Hill Cemetery."

"Would it be all right if I went with you this year?" He asked and saw the surprised look on her face.

"You would want to go with me to visit my dad on perhaps the most emotional day of the year? You're prepared to handle the tears and emotional roller coaster?"

He nodded. "I promise that I'll be there just like I was there today."

She thought about how comforted she had been while she was in his arms. She thought about the future and how he would do the same thing for her again. She decided that she wanted him to be there. She didn't know how he did it. She never talked about her dad's death. Never. Even with her mom. Before Gabriella had thought it was because her mom didn't talk about it either, but now… Troy had gotten her to finally realize that it wasn't her fault. Deep down she had known that it wasn't her fault, but she refused to believe it. Until now.

"Thank you, Troy. I would like you to be there. I have never been able to talk about this. You are amazing, Wildcat."

"Thank you. You're pretty wonderful yourself, Brie."

"Again with the nickname. Now will you tell me?"

"Well, everyone already calls you 'Gabi', and Chad calls you 'Gabs'; I think that playing the role of boyfriend requires me to have my very own nickname for you. You already have one for me. It just slipped out. I wasn't even really thinking about it while I was driving over here earlier."

"Ah. Well, that explains everything." Lightning suddenly streaked across the sky followed by thunder. Gabriella looked outside.

"Hey, a thunderstorm. You know what that means? Don't you?" A confused look crossed Gabriella's face. "That means that it's time to watch a movie. I don't know about you, but I am in the mood for 'A Nightmare before Christmas'."

A smile replaced the confusion, and she led him down the stairs to the TV room. She grabbed the movie from one of the boxes. Troy noticed that there were still plenty of boxes lying around. "Hey, you guys still aren't unpacked?"

"No. Usually it doesn't take us that long, but my mom has been really busy, and I've been at school a lot."

"I could come over tomorrow and help you unpack." He offered.

"I couldn't ask you to do that, Troy."

"You didn't ask. I offered."

"But we have rehearsals and homework."

"I could come over after rehearsals, and we both know that you can get yours done pretty quickly. I can get mine done relatively quickly and if I get stuck, you can just help me."

Gabriella saw the point of his plan. "All right."

She put on the movie, and they watched. She sat as close to him as possible with his arm around her. "You want to hear another thing about my dad?"

"Yeah. Tell me."

"Before he would tuck me in at night, he'd always march me into my room on his toes, and he'd dance with me to my bed. I remember one specific night I asked him why he spent so much time with me. He said, 'One day, Mija, you won't be living with your mom and me anymore.' I got so freaked out.

"He explained it. 'You won't be living with us anymore because you're going to live with your husband. There'll be another man in your life. He'll be wonderful. He'll respect his parents, and not only you but your mom and me. He'll be a gentleman, and he'll treat you like you're his queen. But most importantly, he'll love you know matter what, and he'll never let you go. That's why I want to spend as much time with you as possible. One day your Prince Charming will come, and my Cinderella will be gone. Just like that.' I remember him saying that to me. and every night, he would say, 'Te quiero con toda mi alma, mi Cenicienta'."

"'I love you with all my soul, my Cinderella.'" Troy translated.

"Yeah. How did you know that?" She asked him surprised.

"I took a year of Spanish." He explained to her.

"Oh. You really paid attention."

"Just because I'm a jock doesn't mean that I don't pay attention in school."

"I know. We of all people should understand that."

Another streak of lightning and clap of thunder reverberated through the sky. She scooted closer to Troy, and they continued to watch the rest of the movie. Every time lightning or thunder could be seen or heard, he pulled her even closer to him. _I could get used to thunderstorms. _Gabriella thought to herself.

* * *

Author's Note: Thank you for all the support and feedback that I've been getting. I'll be gone for two weeks starting on Wednesday so I won't be able to update. Please review and thanks again.


	7. Chapter 7: Brand New Day

Chapter 7: Brand New Day

_And I, I think I'll change my ways_

_So all your words get noticed_

_Tomorrow's a brand new day_

_Tomorrow's a new day_

* * *

Maria had a funny feeling as she returned home from work. When she opened the door, she found Gabriella and Troy on the couch with the TV still on. Gabriella's head was resting in Troy's lap, and from the way Troy's hand was in her hair, she decided that he had been playing with it when he had fallen asleep.

"The Nightmare before Christmas" was going through the credits. Gabriella hadn't watched that movie during thunderstorms since her father had died. But her mind wandered to something else. She was touched that Troy was willing to come over to watch the movie with her.

However, a part of her was a little discomforted that he was here alone with her daughter. The other part of her that won, fortunately for them, thought that the scene was absolutely adorable. "That is so cute." She said to herself. She grabbed the camera from the drawer next to the couch and took a picture of them. She was tempted to leave them there and let him stay over, but knowing that his parents would probably wonder where he was she used her better judgment and woke Gabriella up.

"Gabi, Honey, wake up." She shook her daughter gently. "Troy has to go home. The storm's over."

Gabriella stirred and looked up at her mom. She noted her position in Troy's lap and tried not to blush but to no avail.

"Would you mind waking Troy? His parents are probably wondering where he is." Maria watched as her daughter nodded before she turned off the TV and went upstairs.

Although she desperately wanted to stay there all night, Gabriella sat up and tried to wake Troy.

"Troy, Troy. Wake up." Gabriella coaxed.

"Your hair is so soft, Brie." He said not fully awake.

"Kissing up, Bolton?"

"Yes, Montez. Yes, I am."

She was quite amused that he could play their "Kissing up" game while half asleep. Even in his sleep he managed to make her feel like the luckiest girl on the planet. "Thank you for the compliment, Wildcat, but seriously, you have to get up and go home. The storm's over."

"No." He mumbled. "Right here is fine."

She sighed. She tried to think of a way to wake him up. An idea suddenly came to mind. She tilted her head down and placed her lips on his. It took him a few seconds, but he slowly woke up and started to return the kiss. When she was sure that he was awake, she pulled back. He slowly opened his eyes and met her brown eyes.

"I thought that it was the other way around. Isn't it _my_ job to wake the princess?" He asked teasingly.

She smiled. "Well, that would be kind of hard if the prince were having his own dreams."

"I don't remember asking for a wake up call."

"The storm's over."

"Well, I gotta say, if you were my wake up call in the morning instead of my alarm clock, I wouldn't mind getting up for school."

"I agree." She replied.

"Any chance that you could wake up extra early, go to my house, and take the place of my annoying alarm clock?"

"Sorry. I don't think so, Wildcat. Come on. Get up. " She got off the couch and held her hands out so that he could take them. He didn't reach for them right away. "Come on, Troy. My mom found us here, and I'm guessing that she doesn't expect dinner for three. Besides, your parents are probably wondering where you are." He looked at her hand again. Once he grabbed them, she lifted him up.

"Your mom found us here?" She nodded, and he noticed her blush. "What was I doing when she found us?" He asked afraid of what she might say.

"Well, my head was in your lap, and your hand was in my hair."

He breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh. Okay. I thought that I was doing something totally different."

"Like what?"

"Nothing inappropriate per se. But I doubt that your mom would've had an understanding in it. What did she say?"

"She didn't say anything actually. She just told me to wake you up, and she went upstairs. But after she went upstairs, and I was trying to wake you up, in your sleep, you mentioned that my hair was soft."

"It is. Very soft."

They both walked to the front door. "Thank you for coming, Troy. First the talk about my dad and then the movie… Thank you."

"It's no problem. No problem at all. You should expect me here anytime we hear anything remotely related about thunderstorms, because I think that I have a new favorite thing to do. If that's all right with you." He added the last part since he knew that it had been her dad's thing with her.

"I'd like that." She said. And he smiled one of his dazzling smiles. "I guess I have some explaining to do for the rest of the gang. I was pretty weird today."

"Taylor, Chad, and Kelsi all asked if you were okay."

"Did you tell them why?"

"Not really. I didn't exactly know. It was like that time when Taylor and Chad thought that it would be better for everyone if they separated us, only this time, it was in mini form. You were distant in everything. I was really worried."

"I'm sorry."

"It's all right, Brie. You didn't know that you were worrying anyone. You were just thinking about your dad. That's all."

"Thank you for helping me see that it wasn't my fault. I knew, but I didn't want to believe it. I haven't talked with my mom about it. I thought it was because _she_ didn't like to talk about it, but now I think it was because I thought that it was my fault. I haven't been able to talk about it…until you." She repeated his words to him, and a smile went across his face before he pulled her into another hug.

"I'm just glad that you trust me enough to tell me. If you don't want me to tell the gang, then I won't."

"Thank you. But I think that I'll tell them. They deserve it after today."

"It's your decision. Tomorrow's a brand new day."

"Well, maybe I won't give them all the details, but they deserve to know why I was acting the way I was today."

Gabriella's mom interrupted them. "Gabriella, is Troy still here? His mom just called."

"And that is my cue to leave." Troy said.

"Why didn't she call your cell phone?"

"She probably did, but I had my phone on silent just in case Chad decided to interrupt us via phone." He pulled out his phone. "And it's a good thing I did because he called me five times."

"Does he plan these interruptions?"

"I don't know. He probably does. He doesn't care about homework enough. He's been behind since pre-school. He has to do something during the afternoon." He noticed his screen lighting up and answered. "Hey, Mom. Yeah, I'm fine. Yes, I'm still at Gabriella's. Sorry. I didn't mean to worry you and dad. I'll be home soon. All right. Love you too. Bye." He hung up the phone and turned his attention back to Gabriella. "I should get going now. I'll see you at school tomorrow." He opened the front door and stepped outside.

"Okay. See you later." She was just about to close the front door when he interrupted her.

"Wait. Don't I get a goodbye kiss?" She smiled and gave him a quick kiss. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Okay. Bye." She watched him go to his truck. He smiled and winked at her before he drove away.

* * *

"So care to tell me? Or will I have to pry it out of you?" Gabriella turned around and saw her mom standing on the stairs.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." She said trying to avoid the subject.

"You know very well what I'm talking about, Gabriella."

"Nothing happened, Mom. Troy just came over here to talk to me."

"I see. It wouldn't have anything to do with why I found you home yesterday when you were supposed to be with your friends and the way you were acting would it?"

"Maybe." She sighed. She couldn't keep anything from her mom. Her mom went over to the couch, sat, and motioned for Gabriella to take a seat next to her.

"You can talk to me about anything, Mija."

"I know that."

"Then why aren't you doing it now? Just tell me what happened yesterday." Maria urged her.

Gabriella sighed before she started to tell her. "Yesterday, Troy and Chad were saying that Troy hasn't had a girlfriend before me, and they were telling stories about it. Then they asked me about myself. I told them that we've lived in eighteen places, and they started to ask questions. At first, they were the usual ones: 'Have you been here?' and 'Have you been there?'. Then Troy asked about dad." Maria inhaled sharply. "I told them that he died when I was eight. I started to tell them about him. How we were close and everything. I just lost it because I started to remember him. Troy took me home early because I couldn't talk about it anymore."

"You've never had a problem talking about it before."

"That's because whenever _we _talk about it, it's on the anniversary, and it can't be helped. I didn't tell you everything, Mom." She paused so that she could think about how to tell her mom about her confession. She started to get teary eyed. "Mom, when I was in the hospital after the accident with dad, I heard you talking to the police about the accident. I overheard that with the evidence they gathered dad swerved just enough so that he received most of the impact, and I thought that…"

"It was your fault." Maria finished. Gabriella nodded tears slowly coming down her face. "Oh, Gabi." Her mom pulled her into a tight hug and held her while she cried. She pulled back and wiped her tears. "Oh, Mija. It wasn't your fault. I never blamed you. Your father wouldn't blame you either."

"I know that now. That's why Troy was here. He noticed that I was acting weird, and he came over to investigate." She left the part out about his climbing the tree to get to the balcony. Her mom didn't need to know that quite yet. "I told him everything that I just told you. He listened and held me while I cried. He was the one who convinced me that it wasn't my fault."

Maria made a mental note to thank Troy later. He really was a special boy. "Oh, Mija. I'm so glad that Troy did that for you. He's a special boy."

"I know."

"And the movie?"

"I told him that during thunderstorms, dad and I would watch 'The Nightmare before Christmas'. He remembered and that's what we did during the afternoon."

"All right. I trust you. I'm glad that he did that for you." Maria voiced again. "I love you."

"I love you too, Mom." Gabriella said as Maria pulled her in for another hug.

* * *

Gabriella walked into the hallways of East High. The sky was beautiful due to the storm that had just washed away all the polluted air. She loved the feeling that the rain had provided. Not only was the air clean, but she felt like a weight had been lifted off her shoulders. A weight that she had been carrying around for almost nine years. She finally talked to her mom about her dad. She felt like the rain had washed every guilty feeling that she had been burdened with. Troy was right. Today was a brand new day, the first day that she could really start living.

She grabbed her books from her locker and headed over to homeroom. She wanted to talk to Taylor before school started. When she entered, she saw Taylor sitting at her desk no doubt going over some last minute things before school started. She walked over to Taylor a little ashamed of how she had acted yesterday.

"Hey, Tay." Taylor looked up from her text book.

"Hi, Gabi." Taylor said cheerfully. "What's up? How are you?" Her tone held no emotion for yesterday's misunderstanding.

"Much better now." She paused "I um…wanted to apologize for yesterday. I wasn't acting like myself. And I was worrying everyone."

"But you're okay now?"

"I'm okay now." Gabriella confirmed.

"Let me guess. Troy." Taylor could see the faint twinkle in Gabriella's eyes that was reserved specifically for Troy.

"Yeah."

"What happened yesterday, Gabriella?" Taylor asked.

"I was just having trouble with some stuff."

"Is it because we asked about your dad?"

"No, Tay. You guys didn't do anything. It was me. I can't tell you everything, but what I can tell you is that Troy helped me realize some stuff. And I feel like someone took a load off of my shoulders. I just wanted to say that I'm sorry for the way I was acting."

The tone in Gabriella's voice warned Taylor to not pry about the "stuff" she was talking about. For now, she was content knowing that she had her best friend back. "It's all right, Gabriella. I forgive you. I wasn't mad at you. I was just really worried. You looked like someone died yesterday."

Gabriella fought to hide a wince from her face. Taylor didn't know the irony in her statement. "Well, what do I look like today?"

"Well, I particularly like the fact that your dress looks perfect on you." She laughed.

"Thanks."

"You look like what you said. Like a load has just been lifted. You also look like you can handle the next Decathlon competition that we have on Friday against the South High Tigers. Are you ready?"

"Yeah I am." She gave Taylor a high five. "So can we forget that yesterday even happened?"

"Yesterday? What?" Taylor asked.

"Thanks, Tay." She gave her friend a quick hug. They heard the warning bell ring, and Gabriella took her seat. Everything was falling into place.

* * *

"Hey, Troy!" Chad called out. He fell into step with him as they made their way to homeroom.

"Hey, Man."

"So is Gabs better?"

They reached the class. "Does that answer your question?" He pointed to a laughing Taylor and smiling Gabriella. Gabriella gave her a high five.

"What did you do?"

"I just talked to her. You can talk to her later. Come on. We'd better get seated before Darbus gives us a tardy for not being in our seats." He caught Gabriella's eyes. He gestured towards Taylor. She nodded. Everything was okay. He winked at her before he turned back to the front of the classroom where Ms. Darbus stated giving the announcements for the day.

"We have a Decathlon competition against South High this Friday. We also have golf tryouts and track and field this week on Wednesday. If you plan on attending those tryouts, and you are a part of the Winter Musicale production, please inform me that you will not be here for rehearsals." She looked at Troy. "That includes our leads."

Gabriella sat down at the lunch table with her friends. Kelsi was working on the music for the musical so she wasn't there. They were talking to her like yesterday never even happened. But she still felt a little guilty about it. "Hey, guys?" She interrupted. They all turned to her. "I just wanted to say sorry for yesterday."

"Hey, it's all good, Gabs. We're just glad that you are you again." Chad said.

"Yeah." They all agreed.

"Thanks." She turned to face Troy and looked at him. "Thank you." She said.

"It's not a problem." He replied.

* * *

"Ah. Ms. Montez, it's nice to see that you are well." Ms. Darbus said.

"Yeah. I am. Thanks." She walked over to Kelsi.

"Hey, Kels."

"Hi, Gabriella. You look better today."

"I've been hearing that a lot lately. I wanted to say sorry for yesterday. I wasn't myself, and I didn't mean to make you all worry."

"It's okay. I forgive you. You just focus on doing well during rehearsal."

"Will do." She assured her. Gabriella and Troy did the rehearsals, and it was one of the best rehearsals that they had. They got their lines right, went over some choreography, and did a quick costume check.

Pretty soon rehearsals were done. "That's enough for today. Thank you everyone. You may return home."

Gabriella and Troy walked out to the car. "Are you ready for some intense unpacking?" Troy asked her.

"You say that like it's going to be the most fun thing you're going to do in your whole life. Have you ever moved anywhere before?"

"No." He answered.

"That would explain the eagerness."

They went to her house so that they could get a lot done. They did their homework for a little while. Thankfully, they didn't have much that day, so they were able to finish quickly and start unpacking the remaining boxes. They read the labels on the boxes and carried them to the room they belonged in. There weren't many, but it took them a little while. Gabriella decided that she wanted to unpack all the pictures. They ended up sitting down on the couch looking at the pictures.

"That was you?" Troy asked. He pointed to a picture of her when she was two years old. She nodded. "Even then you were hot."

"Troy!"

"What you were. Look at that smile. It has 'Future girlfriend of Troy Bolton' all over it."

She got up. "I'm going to get dinner ready."

Maria walk in the house to find Troy and Gabriella laughing and looking at pictures. Gabriella looked up when she heard the door open.

"Hey, Mom. How was work?"

"Hello. Work was fine thank you for asking."

"And that is my cue to leave." Troy started to get up when Maria stopped him.

"Wait, Troy. Would you like to stay for dinner?"

"Oh, I couldn't—"

She interrupted him. "Don't be silly. You deserve it. Besides, you can try my brownies. You just make yourself comfortable I have this feeling that you're going to be here often.

Gabriella and Troy blushed.

"Well, all right, but I have to call my parents." Troy said. "I'll be right back."

Troy got his phone and called his parents.

"Hello?"

"Hi, Mom." Troy greeted.

"Hello? How did the unpacking go?"

"Fine. We ended up looking at pictures."

"So are you coming home?"

"That's why I'm calling. Ms. Montez invited me to stay for dinner. Is that okay?"

"Yes. Thank you for calling. Just make sure that you're at home before your curfew."

"Okay, Mom. Tell dad for me. I'll talk to you later. Love you."

"I love you too. Bye."

"Bye." Troy hung up and went back to the other room. "She gave the a-okay. I just need to be back before curfew."

"You should be back before then." Gabriella replied.

"Gabi, could you go set the table?" Maria asked her daughter.

"Yes, Mama."

"I'll help you." Troy offered.

"Hold on, Troy. I'd like to talk to you."

Gabriella looked over at Troy in an apologetic look. He nodded to her as if to say "It's okay. I'll be fine. Go ahead." She was hesitant, but she walked out of the room and left Troy and her mom alone.

Troy suddenly became nervous. Whether it was because Gabriella wasn't there anymore or whether it was because he was scared that Gabriella's mom had found out that he climbed the balcony on two occasions and would make him break up with Gabriella, he didn't know.

"Troy, don't be worried." She said, reading his mind. "I'm not making you and Gabriella break up."

_How in the world do moms do that?_ He thought to himself.

"I'm not really sure, Troy." She said reading his mind again. "Call it a mother's intuition."

_Gabriella probably has that. _He said to himself.

"Yes, Gabriella probably does have it as does every other girl, but that's not why I wanted to talk to you." Troy tensed. "Relax, Troy. I'm not going to interrogate you either."

_If that's not the reason, then why?_ Troy asked himself.

"I wanted to talk to you because I wanted to thank you."

"Thank me? For what?" As soon as he asked, he knew.

"For what you did for Gabriella yesterday. I didn't know about what she thought and felt about her father's death. And why she confided in you and not me about it was…is something that I wish she'd had the courage to do with me, but at any rate, you have saved her from something that had been haunting her for eight years. And for that, I am thankful."

Troy was taken aback. That was something he did not expect. "You're welcome, but it was absolutely no problem at all. I was worried. I don't know why she confided in me, I mean, I'm me, but I'm glad that she trusted me enough to tell me. I care about your daughter, Ms. Montez."

"I know you do, Troy. You proved that yesterday."

Gabriella walked in.

"Hey." Troy said.

"Hi. Table's ready. So what were you guys talking about?" She asked, curious about the conversation they had been having for the past few minutes.

"Later. Let's go eat. It smells good."

They all went into the dining room and ate the dinner that Gabriella had prepared earlier. Troy talked about the upcoming golf tryouts; Gabriella talked about the upcoming decathlon Friday against the South High Tigers; and they both talked about how well rehearsals were going. They had some of Maria's brownies, and Troy praised them for being the best brownies in the world. He looked at his phone and noticed what time it was.

"Oh shoot. I have to get home. Thank you for inviting me to dinner, Ms. Montez. The brownies were amazing."

"Anytime."

"I'll walk you to the front door." Gabriella offered.

Troy and Gabriella got up and went over to the front door.

"So care to tell me what you and my mom were talking about?"

"She just wanted to thank me for what I did yesterday."

"Ah. Well, I thank you too. You were right. It wasn't my fault."

He smiled at her. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Bye." Troy intended to give her a quick kiss, but it ended up being a little longer. Longer as in the only reason they pulled away was because Maria came to see what was taking Gabriella so long, and she "cleared" her throat.

"Bye." Troy said. He went out the door and drove away in his mom's car.

Gabriella closed the door, looked at her mom, and blushed. "Umm…sorry?"

Fortunately for her, Maria let it slide.

* * *

Author's Note: Thank you for all being patient with me. I will try to update soon.


	8. Chapter 8: Black Roses Red

Disclaimer: I do not own HSM

Chapter 8: Black Roses Red

_Can you turn my black roses red?_

_Cuz' I feel like I've never known love_

* * *

Troy walked into East High ready for the day. Today was Wednesday and the golf tryouts. He had been on the golf team the previous year and planned on doing it again. It didn't give the exciting or exhilarating feeling that basketball gave him, but he enjoyed playing the sport.

He spotted Gabriella at her locker and made his way over to her. He kissed her on the cheek. "Hey." He said.

"Hey, Wildcat." She replied turning toward him.

"You're here early."

"Taylor called for an early practice session for this Friday's decathlon. Am I going to see you this afternoon?"

"I don't think so. We have those golf tryouts today."

"Oh yeah. I forgot." She said as she closed her locker. She entwined her fingers with his, and they walked down the hall to their homeroom.

"Why do you seem so surprised?"

"Well, basketball and golf are so different. Not that I know much about the two sports anyways."

"Well, I guess that you're right."

* * *

The rest of the week flew by. Troy, of course, made the golf team, and Chad was on the track team for the 400m and the relay race.

Troy and Gabriella went to as many rehearsals as they could. The musical was going to be in one and a half weeks and they had to get as many rehearsals done as possible.

With all the tryouts and rehearsals and decathlon (the wildcats won it, by the way), the week flew by quickly. Ms. Darbus even scheduled extra rehearsals over the weekend to make up for the time lost with her two leads.

Gabriella was used to organizing her time between the decathlons and actual school, but she had never thought to put rehearsals for a musical into her equation. She was having a fun time at rehearsals though. Since the first rehearsal, she had started to come out of herself, and Troy helped her.

Troy, however, was not used to scheduling this kind of stuff. Basketball and golf season weren't at the same time, so he found time to keep up with his homework and studying. But this was new for him. Like Gabriella, he had never thought to put rehearsals for a musical into his schedule. Usually, he would do his sport and then do his schoolwork, but over the past few weeks, he's had to switch some stuff around and make time for everything.

Apart from basketball and golf, performing was a totally different thing. It gave him the same adrenaline rush as basketball just with a different twist. Though he wouldn't admit it to anyone but Gabriella, he was enjoying himself a lot.

Finally after the rehearsals for the weekend, Troy and Gabriella tiredly made their way to the car.

"When I go home, I am going to straight to sleep." Troy told her.

"Did you even get your homework done, Wildcat?"

"No, I still have to do some of the World History…and English…and Chemistry." He admitted.

"Troy, you can't neglect your work." She scolded.

"I know, but I haven't had time all this weekend. We haven't even had time to hang out outside of rehearsals."

"Well, just come over to my house for at least an hour to do your homework. I can help you out if you get stuck."

Troy thought about it for a minute. "Okay. I'll text my mom when we get there."

The ride to Gabriella's home was silent. It wasn't an uncomfortable silence, more of a tired silence.

When they reached her house, they wordlessly collected their stuff from the truck and went into the house. While Gabriella went into the living room to set up her books on the coffee table, Troy took out his phone.

_Hey, mom. I'm going to do some homework here at Gabriella's. I'll be home in an hour or so. Thanx. Love you._

She texted him back after a minute.

_That's fine. Be sure to tell her thank you. I'll see you soon. I love you too._

After everything with his mom had been settled, Troy sat on the floor next to Gabriella so that they could start on their homework.

Troy got relatively good grades in school, but since Gabriella had come, his grades had slowly gotten better. She was after all a genius.

Much to their surprise, they got their homework done within forty-five minutes with fifteen minutes to spare. Gabriela suggested that they go over their lines. Troy, after going through a weekend of rehearsals, objected to the idea and suggested that they just sit and talk for the remainder of the time. But Gabriella reminded him that the show was nearing, and they still had to work out some scenes. Troy still wouldn't yield. Some scolding and a puppy-dog face later, Troy finally gave in and rehearsed with her.

* * *

Maria came home early from work that day and walked into the house with that familiar feeling she had acquired over the past few days. She found Troy and Gabriella running through their lines in the living room. She had to admit though they were good. Really good.

"Hey, Mom. You're home early." Gabriella said.

"Uh huh." Maria said rather tired as well from her weekend at work.

"Oh. Rough day at work?" Gabriella guessed.

"Yes." Maria said sitting on the couch. "Rough day at rehearsals?"

"Just tiring." Troy answered. "Actually I gotta go. I think I'm going to catch a little sleep before school tomorrow. Thanks for letting me come over. I'll see you later." Troy gave Gabriella a quick kiss on the cheek and went out the front door.

After Troy had gone, Gabriella sat on the couch next to her mom. "Can I ask you something, Mom?"

"Yes, Mija."

"Um…well" Gabriella suddenly felt shy talking about this with her mom. "Valentine's Day is on Wednesday, and I don't really have a clue what to do for Troy. Any ideas?" She admitted.

Maria turned her head towards Gabriella and smiled at her. "Mija, you'll think of something. I think that this is something that should be from your heart. I'm sure that Troy will love whatever you do for him."

Gabriella sighed that wasn't what she wanted to hear, but she knew that her mom was right. This was something that she would have to think of herself.

* * *

Troy walked into his house and headed for his room. He was really tired after the weekend, and he planned on getting in some extra sleep. On the way to his room, Troy saw his mom on the table writing something.

"Hey, Mama." Troy said as he kissed her cheek.

"Hello, how did Gabriella's go?"

"It went fine. We got all our homework done early, but considering that it's Gabriella, that shouldn't be too much of a surprise." Troy turned his attention to the piece of paper his mom was writing on. "What are you writing?"

"Oh, it's just a first draft for my Valentine's Day card to your dad."

Troy nodded and then stopped. "Oh, shoot. Valentine's Day. Gabriella. Mom, I have no idea what to do for her."

"Troy, honey, what are you talking about? You've done plenty of stuff for her already."

"But it's Valentine's Day, Mom. It's the day when it absolutely has to count."

"Honey, calm down. Just be thankful that it's not Sharpay that you have to think about. She would want the whole shebang."

Troy chuckled. "Yeah she would. Gabriella's the total opposite of her. She doesn't like things to be too over the top."

"Well, coming from a woman's perspective, just make sure that you be yourself."

Troy sat there in thought for a minute before he got his ideas together, but he still couldn't think of stuff. "I think I'm going to go sleep. It's been a long weekend."

* * *

Troy, still groggy from sleep, made his way to homeroom. He managed to get a few more hours of sleep in, but with everything going on, he was still tired. And he wouldn't get to completely relax until Spring Break.

Troy sat down at his desk and just sat. He propped up his head with his hand and remained silent.

Chad walked into homeroom looking just as tired as Troy, but he didn't have as much a load on him. He was simply tired because it was Monday morning. Chad's philosophy was "Monday mornings are a cause for mourning."

"Hey, Man. Why are you tired?" Chad asked.

"I had a pretty long weekend, Chad." Troy said. "I had to practice for golf, and Darbus scheduled some extra rehearsals over the weekend because the play is on Friday, and, on top of that, I had to do all my homework."

"The show's on Friday?"

"Yeah, you're still going to be there right?"

"Yeah. Just making sure so that I don't plan anything for Friday."

"You plan?"

"Only because Taylor makes me."

"Oh and I have to decide what to do with Brie on Valentine's Day too."

"What?! Valentine's Day?! Are you serious? They don't really expect us to do anything for them. Do they?"

"Well, yeah, Chad. It's Valentine's Day. Of course the girls expect something."

"Hoops, I don't do romance okay? I'm not like you where I can think of the most romantic stuff to do for girls."

"Hey, I'm still thinking about what to do for Brie okay? Should I bring her flowers—"

"Hoops."

"Or maybe I could bring her somewhere like the ice skating rink-"

"Hoops!" Chad called out finally getting his attention.

"What?"

"Hoops, listen to me. Gabs is going to love whatever you think of okay? So stop putting so much pressure on yourself."

"Well, this is her first relationship, and it's…sort of mine too, so I just want Valentine's Day to be a memorable one for her."

"I know you do, Hoops. Just don't overwork it. You still have to do the show and golf, and we have that Chemistry test on Thursday."

"Oh shoot. I forgot about that."

"Just relax and take a deep breath." Chad told him.

Troy took a deep breath. "Thanks, Chad. I never knew that you had this soft side."

"You aren't the only one Gabs has changed, Man."

* * *

Gabriella came into school that day the most tired she had ever been in relation to school. This week was going to be very long and tiring. The show was on Friday; they had a Chemistry test on Thursday; the decathlon team was going to meet early everyday this week; and she still had to think of something to give to Troy for Valentine's Day.

She walked into homeroom and gave Troy a kiss on the cheek.

"Hey, Wildcat."

"Hey, Brie. Did you get some extra sleep?"

"Yeah. I gotta go do some stuff before homeroom starts."

"All right. Oh and, Brie?"

"Yeah."

"Don't worry about planning anything for Wednesday. I got it. What's your favorite movie besides 'Nightmare before Christmas'?"

"'West Side Story.'"

"All right."

He smiled at her, and she smiled back as she took her seat and got ready for the school day.

"Hey, you look tired." Gabriella heard Taylor say as she took her seat.

"Yeah. We have a lot going on. I have to go to rehearsals, study, and, on top of that, think of something to get Troy for Valentine's Day."

"Don't worry. You'll think of something. Troy will love anything that you give him."

Gabriella smiled. Taylor was right. She would think of something.

* * *

Monday and Tuesday were hectic for both Troy and Gabriella. They were both expected to attend all final rehearsals for this Friday. At the same time, they were both expected to stick with the commitments that they made for their teams.

Somehow, Troy found the time to plan his date with Gabriella for Valentine's Day and get her present.

Gabriella was relieved that she finally thought about what to get Troy, but she would have to get it quick.

Before they knew it, it was Valentine's Day. Gabriella was asleep but not for much longer. At six o'clock, her phone started ringing.

"Hello?" She answered, her voice still thick with sleep.

"Rise and shine, Sleeping Beauty!" She heard the other person say.

"Troy? What-"

"Well, I thought that I'd give you a wake up call and be the first one to say happy Valentine's Day, and I decided to call you on your phone. My first idea was to just climb the balcony, but I doubt that your mother would approve of that, so I settled for this."

"Thank you. But if you say that this was your present, then you-"

"Don't worry, Brie. You know me."

"I suppose."

"Well, get up, Beautiful, and I am going to pick you up and escort you to school."

"All right. I'll see you in an hour. Bye."

"Bye."

Gabriella sat up in her bed and wiped her eyes. She had gotten Troy's present wrapped up earlier, so that she could sleep in a little bit, but that didn't work out, so she decided that she'd better get ready.

When she was done getting dressed and getting her hair done, she went downstairs to find that her mother had already gone to work and noticed a folder on the counter with a card next to it addressed to Gabriella. It read:

_Dear Mija,_

_It's hard to believe that you are so grown up. But whenever I see you, I still see my little girl. We are fortunate to have such a good mother-daughter relationship. I love you with all my heart._

_Love, Mom_

_P.S. This gift is something that you and your friends will enjoy. We've been planning it since the night we went to dinner at the Bolton's. We'll be going during your spring break._

Gabriella curious to see what her mother meant, opened the folder and in it were two plane tickets to go to Orlando, Florida. She also found two park hoppers for Disney World.

* * *

Troy hung up his phone and got ready for the day. When he went to eat breakfast, he saw his mom and dad sitting at the table looking over cards that they had exchanged to each other. He got his cereal and took his seat.

"Here you go, Troy." His mother handed him a folder.

_Dear Troy,_

_Happy Valentine's Day! We love you. We are so glad that you were able to find a special someone this year. We really like Gabriella and would like to spend more time getting to know her over Spring Break._

_Love, Mom and Dad_

Troy looked opened up the folder. "Mom, what are these?"

"Just read them, Troy."

Inside were three plane tickets to Orlando, Florida and three park hoppers to Walt Disney World.

"Dad, are you serious?"

"Yeah. We've been planning this ever since that dinner that we had."

"Wait; I thought you said that you wanted to get to know Gabriella more during Spring Break. How are we going to do that if we're in Florida?"

Jack and Lucille just looked at him and smiled waiting for him to figure it out. They smiled even wider when they saw his face dawn with understanding.

"Are you serious?! She's coming with us?!"

"Not only her Troy, but at around this time, all of your friends are getting the same present as we speak." Lucille told him.

Troy got up and hugged his parents. "This is the best present ever! Thank you."

Lucille and Jack returned the hug, before Jack looked at his watch. "Hey, Troy, you'd better get going. Just grab a to-go breakfast today. You still have to pick up Gabriella. I'm going to drive your mother to work."

"Okay. I'll see you later. I think I'm going to come home and freshen up before I put my plan into action."

"Okay. I'll see you later." Lucille said as Troy gave her a kiss on the cheek.

"I'll see you at school." Jack said.

Troy went out the front door and drove over to Gabriella's house.

* * *

Troy knocked on Gabriella's front and waited for a moment before she answered it.

"Well, if it isn't the alarm clock himself." She teased as she invited him in.

"Good morning to you too. Happy Valentine's Day. These are for you." He kissed her as he gave her a bouquet of lilies and roses.

"Thanks, Wildcat. I'm still finishing up washing the dishes from breakfast so…"

"That's okay. I was early."

"Wait right here. I have to go get something from my room." Gabriella left Troy alone in the living room and came back with a present in her hand. "Happy Valentine's Day, Troy."

Troy politely took the present from her and opened it revealing a framed picture of Gabriella sitting in the cafeteria on the steps posing.

Gabriella watched his face carefully to see what his reaction would be. Relief washed over her as she saw a smile play on his face.

"Thank you. This is amazing. Oh. Here you go." Troy handed her his gift.

She opened it and smiled. It was a picture of him outdoors wearing a blue shirt that made his eyes stand out. She traced the picture with her finger.

"You like it?"

"I love it." She said. "How did you take this? It looks really recent."

"I asked Sarah from the show to do it. Yours looks recent too."

"Sarah took it." She replied.

"Great minds think alike."

"Thank you, Troy. This was an amazing gift."

"You're welcome. Thank you for yours."

"You're welcome."

They stood there and smiled at each other until Troy's phone went off indicating that it was time to hear for school.

"We'd better get going. You ready?" Troy asked her.

"Yeah. Let's go."

They walked out the front door and went to the car.

"Oh. Before I forget, we're doing something later."

"We are?" Gabriella asked confused.

"Yeah. We are. Just be ready six."

"Okay."

"Did you find out what you're doing during Spring Break?"

"Yeah. My mom and I are going to Disney World, but she said something about my friends, but I have no—" Gabriella saw Troy smile. "Are you serious?! You're coming too?!"

"Yup. Our parents are pretty cool."

"Do you think that the others are coming too?"

"That's what my dad said."

"This is one of _the _best presents ever."

"I agree completely." Troy said.

* * *

The rest of the day was sort of a blur. The whole school was in the Valentine's Day spirit. The campus was decorated in red, white, and pink. A lot of girls were walking from class to class holding flowers and whispering excitedly to each other. Chad had even gotten Taylor some flowers.

Troy and Gabriella's theories were confirmed about Disney World when all of their friends came up to them saying how great a time they were going to have.

Later in the day after two hours of rehearsals, Troy and Gabriella were able to go home and get ready for their date.

True to his word, Troy arrived at the house at six. Maria opened the door and told him to come in while Gabriella finished getting ready.

"I take it that you found out what we're doing during your Spring Break."

"Yes, that was all that we talked about today. Everyone's really excited to go."

Gabriella came downstairs and was reminded by her mom about her curfew. After Maria was done talking to her, Gabriella and Troy went to the car and started driving.

"So where are you taking me?" Gabriella asked.

"It's a surprise. Just be patient."

* * *

They drove for about ten minutes before Troy pulled over at a park.

"This," He said. "Is East Side Park. Chad and I used to come here as kids and shoot hoops, but ever since they opened another park on the west side, no one really comes here anymore."

Troy and Gabriella got out of the car, and Troy led Gabriella to a picnic that he had set up before he picked her up. It was set at the base of a hill and only a few yards in front of them, was a small man-made lake.

Gabriella noticed a sheet was thrown over a branch of a tree. "What's that for, Wildcat?"

"Let's eat first and then ask questions later. Tonight we will be having peanut butter-and-jelly sandwiches, and for dessert, I've brought hot cheetohs."

Gabriella laughed. He had listened when she told him and the group all about her life.

Troy and Gabriella ate and talked, but Gabriella was still curious to see what the sheet was for.

Troy, noticing her interest in the sheet, got up and started the movie. Gabriella looked at the sheet and smiled. The movie it was playing was "West Side Story." It was her favorite besides "The Nightmare before Christmas."

"Ah…so this is why you wanted to know what my favorite movie was." She said to him as he sat down next to her once again.

"Yup. I've never seen this movie before though."

"You've never seen this before?" Gabriella asked shocked. "Natalie Wood is amazing. She's my favorite actress."

"I don't even know what it's about." He confessed.

"Well, let's watch the movie and find out shall we?"

Troy put his arm around Gabriella's shoulder and relaxed as they watched the movie.

Almost three hours later, Troy got up and stopped the movie while Gabriella wiped her eyes. (If you've seen the movie, you know why she cried.)

"I have to admit, Brie. You have a great taste in musicals. That was a pretty good movie."

"I know. It has romance for the girls and action for the boys. I love the scene when they sing 'America.' The choreography is amazing."

"Yeah. That was pretty cool. Well, we should get you home."

"What, no guitar?"

"No, sorry. I knew that that movie was going to be long, and I wanted to get you home at the designated time. Your mom approves of me, and I want to keep it that way." He started to pack up.

"I'll help you." She said.

After they had gotten everything packed and in the car, Troy drove Gabriella home. He walked her to the front door and kissed her.

"Thank you for today, Troy. To be honest, I've never really done this sort of thing since my dad died. And I've never really done it with a boyfriend."

"Same here. Well, the girlfriend part anyways. I'll see you tomorrow."

Troy left and Gabriella went inside the house.

"How did it go, Mija?" Maria asked when she walked in.

"It went fine, Mom. I haven't really done stuff like this before so it was all pretty new to me, but Troy's never done it either so…it was a learning experience for the both of us. Um…I'm tired so I'm going to go upstairs. Goodnight."

"Goodnight, Gabi."

Gabriella went to her room. It was the best Valentine's Day that she had had since her dad died. She hoped that they would get even better in the up-coming years.

* * *

Author's Note: Sorry that I didn't upload this earlier, but I've been really busy. I hope that you enjoyed it. I didn't really like how I did their date, but that's just me. Tell me if you liked it. Thanks.


	9. Chapter 9: Shine

_Disclaimer: I do not own HSM_

Chapter 9: Shine

_And when I feel unnoticed just two steps back from hopeless_

_You turn my world around with a single smile_

_That's who you are, that's who you are_

_You shine like a window to your heart I see all the possibilities_

_You shine and every day's another opportunity to shine_

* * *

(Taylor's POV)

A part of me wishes that I could go home and start the weekend off by finishing my homework. However, I did promise Gabi that I would come to the opening night of the show.

I sort've want to see Kelsi too. She's worked extremely hard on the show. She takes music as seriously as Gabriella and I take our academics. I know that this show is important for her.

I made my way through the crowd to the auditorium and gave my ticket at the entrance. It was packed. I've never gone to a show before, but I don't think that Ms. Darbus has had such a full house.

I was looking around for a seat when I heard someone calling my name. I looked to see Chad waving me down at the front of the theatre. The whole gang was there too. (Excluding Troy, Gabi, and Kelsi, of course.)

"Hey, Tay. I saved you a seat right next to me." Chad said, apparently proud of himself.

"Thanks." I told him. Martha took a seat next to me.

The intercom started to speak. "Ladies and Gentlemen, please take your seats; the show will begin in less than ten minutes. Less than ten minutes. Thank you."

* * *

(Kelsi's POV)

"…Less than ten minutes. Thank you."

There it was. The signal that the show was going to start. I began to fix up my sheet music. Boy am I nervous. This is the first time that my compositions have been selected. I hope that everyone likes it. The Troy and Gabriella said that they loved the music.

"You'll do great." I heard a voice say behind me.

I turned and came face to face with Gabriella who was dressed in her first costume of the night. "Thanks. You will too. Are you nervous?"

"Don't remind me. I feel like I'm going to faint. There are so many people. More than when we did the callbacks."

"You are going to do fine. You're amazing in rehearsals." I encouraged her.

"Thanks."

"Five minutes till places people! Five minutes!" Ms. Darbus called.

"I gotta go. Break a leg." Gabriella said to me.

"You too."

* * *

(Sharpay's POV)

Ms. Darbus just called places. How I wish that I was going onstage tonight instead of that Montez girl. And she gets to do it with Troy. It's not fair. Troy _never _sang with me.

Ugh! And Ryan is just standing there reminding everyone about the choreography like nothing is wrong. He didn't get the part he wanted either. Sometimes, I do not understand him.

Ugh! This is so unfair! I haven't been beaten out since I started kindergarten! No one has ever beaten me out! No one! And now, I've been reduced to some…some…understudy. I wanna cry.

This is going to be like being at the callbacks again and watching the whole school come out to see them. This is the one of the biggest crowds we've ever had. I looked out at the audience. Scratch that. This is _the_ biggest crowds we've ever had.

Oh. There she is. Gabriella Montez will never do this to me again. Never. Oh there's Troy.

"Troy," I said in my best flirting voice.

"Oh, hey, Sharpay." He said to me. Yes, success.

"I just wanted to say break a leg."

"Thank you."

"So I was wondering if you wanted to come to the after-party later."

He didn't answer me. I saw his gaze wander over the craziness and land on Gabriella.

"Sorry. I'd better go. It's almost time for the show. I'll see you." I watched as he made his way over to Gabriella and hugged her.

And that's another thing! Troy! She stole Troy! I am the most popular girl in school, and she is some nobody! How did she catch his attention? How did they even meet? It makes no sense that he would choose her. Ugh! No one gave me anything for Valentine's Day…well, at least not Troy. UGH! Another reason to want to cry.

* * *

(Gabriella's POV)

Breathe in and out. In and out. You can do this. You can do this. I looked behind the curtain and saw everyone. Okay. Okay. You can't do this. You can't do this! What were you thinking?! I know. I'll sneak out so that nobody can find me. Okay.

Just as I was about to sneak off, I felt two arms wrap around me, and I instantly melted and forgot my fear. I knew who it was before I turned around and met his mesmerizing eyes.

"Hey, you okay?" He asked me.

"Yes, I am absolutely perfect. Fine. Couldn't be better." I lied. He saw right through it.

"Brie, you might be a good actress, but you are a terrible liar. Tell me the truth."

I sighed. "Okay, Troy. I'm terrified. I can't do it. I'd rather leave right now."

He took my hands. "Brie, I'm nervous too. This is my first show too, but we're going to do fine."

"You don't know that. I can't even remember the lyrics for 'Breaking Free.' And we've been singing it a lot. I could've sung it in my sleep last night, but now I can't even remember the first word."

"Well, that shouldn't be a problem, because I'm the one who starts off." He joked, but I didn't laugh. He got serious again. "Brie, wait. Look, you're going to do fine. Okay."

I took my hands from his and started walking.

"_We're soarin' flyin', there's not a star in heaven that we can't reach." _

I listened to his voice and turned around instantly calmed. Dang. How did he do that? He was waiting for me to respond.

"_If we're tryin' so we're breaking free."_

He walked up to me. "I told you. You're going to do fine. It's just us. Just like kindergarten." I felt his hand trace the contours of my face.

"Getting cold feet?" I heard Sharpay ask.

"Huh?"

"Oh. I thought something was the matter. You seemed nervous."

I looked at Troy, and he gave me a reassuring smile. "Nope. Just warming up."

"Oh. You know there are actual warm up exercises. Do what I do." I watched what she did and repeated.

"Places people!" Ms. Darbus called. Troy took my hand and led me on the stage to take our places. Ms. Darbus and Ryan stood close by waiting. Suddenly the curtain rose and the lights went on.

Troy…I mean, Arnold started to talk to me. "Oh. Hello. You must be new. My name is Arnold." And my nervousness dissipated.

* * *

(Troy's POV)

I took a deep breath as I felt the lights go on me. I was able to see the crowd. It was packed. Then I looked at Gabriella. She was more terrified than I was, and I need to pull it together.

I said my line. "Oh. Hello. You must be new. My name is Arnold."

"Minnie." I shook her hand.

"Have I met you before? You seem familiar."

"No. I've just arrived from another city. I've never been here before."

"Interesting. Well, it would be my pleasure to be your escort through this fair city."

"Why thank you, good sir."

"It's no problem. Twinkle Towne is an amazing place. We're named so, because the stars shine bright every night. I will have to take you to my favorite spot to watch the stars."

"I would love that."

* * *

(Ryan's POV)

Everything was going perfectly. Troy and Gabriella were doing everything right. Everything was going like we planned. The scenes were transitioning smoothly, and the audience was responding.

I watched as Troy and Gabriella walked onto the stage for one of the most important parts in the musical.

"So this is your favorite place huh?" Gabriella asked.

"Yeah. This is it. Do you like it?"

"I love it. It's beautiful." She twirled around and looked at the fake garden.

"Yeah…it is." But Troy wasn't looking at the garden.

"Why are you looking at me like that? You look like someone who just found their greatest treasure."

"That…is because I have."

"Arnold, we just met. We've only known each other for a few weeks. You can't possibly know what you seek."

"Minnie, I'm not seeking for anything anymore, because I've already found it. I've found her. I've found you. You know me better than anyone. It's just taken me a little while to realize that."

The piano started, and Troy and Gabriella started to sing.

Troy took her hands into his. Troy sang first. "_It's hard to believe that I couldn't see, you were always right beside me._"

Gabriella took the next part of the verse._ "Thought I was alone, with no one to hold, but you were always right beside me._"

They sang in unison, their voices harmonizing, "_This feelings like no other; I want you to know, that I've never had someone that knows me like you do, the way you do. And I've never had someone as good for me as you. No one like you. So lonely before I finally found what I've been looking for."_

Troy led her to the bench, and Gabriella's voice came out of the speakers. _"So good to be seen, so good to be heard."_

"_Don't have to say a word."_

"_For so long I was lost, so good to be found."_

"_I'm lovin' havin' you around."_

"_This feeling's like no other."_

"_I want you to know, that I've never had someone that knows me like you do, the way you do. And I've never had someone as good for me as you. No one like you. So lonely before I finally found what I've been looking for."_

"_Ooooooo."_

Kelsi continued to play as the scene went on. "Minnie, this is for you. I know that we just met, but you know me better than anyone."

Troy handed her the ring, and she accepted it.

The music stopped, and the audience applauded. Now that I thought about it, I don't know why I ever thought that the song sounded better faster. I knew that they didn't need any choreography.

* * *

(Chad's POV)

I wish that they would make something exciting happen. There was a commotion on stage and I turned to try and catch what Gabs had said to Hoops.

"I have to leave."

"Minnie, please." Troy reached for her and stroked her cheek.

"No, Arnold. This is how it has to be. You aren't the same boy I knew. I can't do this anymore. I'm sorry."

Troy grabbed her arm and let his fingers pull her chin up so that their eyes could meet. He could've sworn that he saw tears in her eyes. He almost forgot his next line, but he continued. "I'm still me."

"No, you're not. I'm sorry." Gabriella took the ring off her hand that Arnold gave to Minnie and gave it back to him before running off the stage.

What? They broke up? But they just met. I sniffed and tried to hold back tears. Shoot. I'm not supposed to be crying or emotional. Ugh! I just hope that Taylor didn't…ah shoot. She saw me. She's giggling. Ugh! Great!

* * *

(Ms. Darbus's POV)

The show is going quite well. Mr. Bolton and Miss Montez seem to surprise me with every passing scene. Mr. Bolton seems to have a knack for acting and dancing, as does Miss Montez. They could have a future in the performing arts.

I never would've thought that Mr. Bolton would be the one to star in my musicale. I believe that I made the right decision in choosing them for the leads.

I watched as they performed one of the last scenes.

"Minnie, I know I don't deserve your forgiveness…"

"Arnold," she interrupted, "You already have it."

"Just hear me out please." He insisted. Gabriella did what the script called for and remained silent. "I don't ever want to lose sight of what's important ever again. I don't want to lose you ever again. I love you."

"I love you too, Arnold." She repeated.

They leaned in and did their on-stage kiss. I could hear "Aw's" from the audience. And I could've sworn that I saw Mr. Danforth crying.

"_We're soarin' flyin', there's not a star in heaven that we can't reach."_

"_If we're tryin' so we're breakin free."_

"_You know the world can see us, in a way that's different than who we are."_

"_Creating space between us, till we're separate hearts."_

"_But your faith, it gives me strength, strength to believe…"_

"_We're breakin' free!"_

"_We're soarin."_

"_Flyin'."_

"_There's not a star in heaven that we can't reach."_

"_If we're tryin', yeah we're breakin' free."_

"_Oh we're breakin' free. Can you feel it building? Like a wave the ocean just can't control."_

"_Connected by a feelin' ooo, in our very soul."_

"_Very soul. Ooo."_

"_Rising till it lifts us up, so everyone can see. We're breakin' free. We're soarin'. Flyin'. There's not a star in heaven that we can't reach. If we're tryin', yeah we're breakin' free. We're runnin'. Climbin' to get to that place to be all that we can be. Now's the time, so we're breakin' free."_

"_More than hope, more than faith"_

"_This is true, this is fate, and together we see it comin'."_

"_More than you, more than me."_

"_Not a want but a need, both of us breakin' free."_

"_Soarin', flyin' there's not a star in heaven that we can't reach. If we're tryin' yeah we're breaking free. Runnin', climbing, to get to that place to be all that we can be. Now's the time, so we're breakin' free."_

"_Oh, we're breakin' free."_

"_You know the world can see us, in a way that's different than who we are."_

It was interesting that people who've had no interest in the performing arts are here watching the two most unlikely people who got the lead roles.

The curtain closed and applause was heard. Mr. Bolton and Ms. Montez were joined on the stage by their fellow cast mates and bowed as the curtain call presumed.

In a moment, everyone was backstage again. "Troy, Gabriella." They turned and looked at me, and I gave them a smile. "Bravo."

"Thank you, Ms. Darbus." They said in unison. I could've sworn that they were surprised, and that Miss Evans seemed horrified. Though I cannot imagine why.

* * *

(Nobody's POV)

"I told you that you would do fine." Troy told Gabriella.

"Yeah. You were right. I think that the rest of the shows won't be a problem. Thanks, Wildcat." Gabriella gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"No problem."

Troy and Gabriella were met by the gang backstage. "You were amazing." Taylor said to me.

"You were all right. I just wish that there had been a little bit more action. I was practically asleep. No offence, Kels" Chad said.

"Oh please. Don't believe anything that he says. He was on the edge of his seat. He cried twice." Taylor said. Everyone laughed, and Chad looked embarrassed.

"Well, I had…something in my eye." He defended, but no one believed him.

"And I thought that he only got that way when he watched soap operas." Troy commented, receiving a glare from Chad.

Kelsi spoke to Gabriella. "I knew that you could do it." She told her.

"You were right. Thanks, Kels."

"Hey, great job guys." Ryan called out to Troy and Gabriella.

"Thanks."

"Hey, would you guys like to come to the after-party?"

"You have after-parties after shows?" Asked Chad. He loved after-parties.

"The sports teams aren't the only ones. It's going to be at our house. You can all come if you want."

"We'll see you there." Zeke promised him.

* * *

Everyone carpooled in Gabriella's Mom's van. Her mom dropped them off and told all of them that it'd be no problem to pick them up later. They all looked at the house and gasped. It was one of _the largest_ houses that they'd ever seen!

When they went inside, music was blaring and people were dancing. Most of them were from the drama department. Chad automatically turned his attention to the huge buffet.

"I will see you guys later." Chad told them as he walked off.

Zeke and Jason saw where he was headed and followed suit.

Troy and the rest of the girls laughed at them.

"You're not hungry, Wildcat?"

"Nah. I'm okay. My adrenaline is still pumping and such."

"Yeah. That was the most fun I've had in a long time. Well, since we did the callbacks. That was great. Hey, do you wanna dance?"

"Sure."

They danced to a few songs and one slow one before getting a little tired and settling for going back to their friends.

Troy suddenly had a familiar feeling in his gut. "Hey, where did Chad go?"

The music stopped, and they turned their heads to a familiar scene.

"Hey, guys, I propose a toast to the two leads of this show who've made it a big hit. I don't know if I would've ever set foot in the auditorium if it weren't for them, but I'm glad I did. To Troy and Gabriella."

Everyone raised their sodas and toasted them and got back to the party.

"Dude, did you have to do that again?" Troy asked in a serious voice.

"Yes."

He smiled. "Well, thanks."

"No problem."

* * *

(Sharpay's POV)

I saw Troy and smiled, so he decided to come to the after-party. My smile quickly turned into a scowl when I saw Gabriella holding his hand leading him to the dance floor. Why am I not surprised? They were practically inseparable.

I saw Danforth stop the DJ and propose a toast to Troy and Gabriella. How dare he do that! This is my house!

Ryan and some of the girls raised their glasses, but I quickly put a stop to it.

At least I was going to be going to Paris in a few weeks, I'll get away from all this icky lovey dovey Troy and Gabriella stuff. And go to Paris. Fabulous.

* * *

Author's Note: I wanted to thank everybody who's reviewed so far. They make me want to write even more, so keep them coming. Thanks.


	10. Chapter 10: Happy

_Disclaimer: I do not own HSM_

Chapter 10: Happy

_Got my dreams, got my life, got my love_

_Got my friends, got the sunshine above_

_Why am I making this hard on myself_

_When there's so many beautiful reasons I have to be_

_Happy_

* * *

The next two weeks flew by rather quickly for the Wildcats. Everyone continued with their normal activities of golf, track-and-field, music, baking, and the decathlon. All of them were as excited about going to Florida as Sharpay was excited about Paris.

There was one incident when Sharpay found out that Troy was going to Florida. Well, she didn't mind hearing that because as much as she wanted Troy for herself, she had been looking forward to this trip for years and years. She wasn't really that upset until she heard that he wasn't going alone, but he was also going with Gabriella and the rest of their group.

She desperately tried to make her parents see the light in why she had to go to Florida instead of Paris. They didn't relent to her pleading and told her that a nice shopping spree would be just the ticket to feeling better. When she heard the words "shopping spree" her fire had been renewed, and although she still wanted to go on to Florida, the thought of all the new outfits she was going to get overrode them.

The day before they left, everyone did some major packing. Taylor finished early and went to help Gabriella with her stuff.

"Oh, don't forget to bring that nice red dress that you wore during the championship game. My parents said that we were going to go to a fancy restaurant one night…and Troy will probably faint of shock when he sees you."

Gabriella laughed. "Taylor." She continued to talk to Taylor as she kept on packing. "How great is this, Tay? We get to go to one of the coolest places on the planet together."

"I know. I can't believe that our parents arranged for all of this to happen. Too bad my parents can't come. My dad has to work at the hospital, and my mom has to stay here and do a few more cases." Taylor's mom was a judge.

"It's all right, Tay. No one's parents are going except for Troy's and mine. It's not like we're going by ourselves."

"I know. Although I hope they won't be accompanying us while we're at the parks. That wouldn't be as much fun."

Gabriella's phone rang a familiar ring tone, and she answered it immediately. "Hey, Wildcat."

"Hey, are you almost done with your packing?"

"Yeah. Almost. Taylor's over here helping me."

"Did she tell you to bring that red dress that you wore the night of the championship game, because I really, _really_ liked that one."

"Yes, she told me, Troy."

"Yes! Tell her thank you."

She laughed. "Tay, Troy says thank you for telling me to pack the red dress."

"You're welcome!" Taylor yelled for Troy to hear.

"Are you almost done packing, Troy? And don't forget to pack a tux for the fancy dinner that we're going to."

"Brie, don't worry; I packed it. And besides, I'm a guy. Guys don't need to pack as many things as girls do. It's just the way life is. Like how we don't take an hour to get ready for the day."

"Hey, I know that I don't dress as fashionably as Sharpay, but I take pride in my wardrobe and hair."

"Oh, I never said that I didn't like it. I _love _the way that you look. And just as a side note, if you dressed like Sharpay, I wouldn't be dating you."

"Oh, don't worry. I love performing, but not the way Sharpay loves it. Everything she wears has to make a fashion statement. Someone asked her if she had ever worn anything that wasn't designed by someone, but her response was 'That is an insult. Even my diapers were designed.'"

"I wouldn't be surprised. Well, I'll let you get back to your packing. Wouldn't want you late for our flight tomorrow. I can't believe that we have to wake up so early. I'd be surprised if Chad doesn't even show."

"Of course he'll show. It's all he's been talking about since Valentine's Day. Don't you dare miss that flight, Troy Bolton."

"And miss a whole week of hanging out with you? No way."

"All right, Wildcat. I'll see you tomorrow bright and early."

"Bye."

"Bye."

* * *

Gabriella and the rest of the Wildcats, despite the fact that it was five o 'clock in the morning, were excitedly making their way through the airport in Albuquerque with their parents close behind. Everyone but Gabriella seemed to be having an already great time, and they were only at the airport.

Taylor told everyone that she was bringing her laptop and a few text books so that they wouldn't get behind.

"Why do you have to take the fun out of vacation?" Chad complained to her.

Kelsi spoke up. "At least you can bring something that's important to you. I don't think the captain will let me bring my piano on the plane."

"You don't need any of those just to dance." Martha added.

"Hey, I brought some new pastries that I wanted everyone to test out." Zeke said.

"Oh, I'm down with that!" Jason replied whole-heartedly.

"Hey, Brie, I downloaded a bunch of new songs on my iPod that we can listen to on the trip."

"Thanks, Troy. I brought a few books as well."

They waited patiently for their plane to be called. Finally, the attendant made the call for everyone to board the plane. All of the Wildcats entered the plane excitedly. Jack, Lucille, and Maria smiled, obviously pleased with themselves that they had thought of this perfect present for the kids.

They all got aboard the plane and took their seats. The way the seating arrangements were made, they were almost uncanny. Troy and Gabriella were sitting next to Chad and Taylor; Jason and Kelsi were sitting with Zeke and Matha; and the adults were across the aisle from them.

The flight would take only a few hours. Chad and Taylor were arguing about how books ruined everything; Zeke was sharing a few cookie recipes with Martha; Kelsi was trying to explain to Jason what they would be doing in Florida; Jack was apparently preparing himself for the long week and was taking a nap; Lucille and Maria were talking amongst themselves about their children and their relationship; Troy and Gabriella were listening to Troy's iPod.

"I do not understand why they haven't killed each other yet." Troy said looking at a bickering Chad and Taylor. "If they get married, I'm not going to U of A."

"U of A?"

"University of Albuquerque. The Red Hawks. It's always been a dream of mine to play for them. They're my favorite college team. I really want to go there for college. Where do you want to go?"

"The college that I've been working towards is Stanford."

Troy was impressed. "Wow. That's a huge college."

"Yeah, it is. We've been talking about it for as long as I can remember. I guess that's partly why I'm so focused on my grades. Plus all of the moves."

"So how many miles is it away from Albuquerque?"

"Um…I haven't really thought about it, but I'm pretty sure that it's over a thousand miles."

"Interesting. Oh, I love this song. Listen."

She listened and smiled. It was the song that he sang for her on their first date.

When the song ended Troy asked her, "So who sings it better?"

"Well, Ben Harper is pretty good, but I really liked the way you sang it."

"Are you just saying that because I'm your boyfriend?"

"No, I love your voice, and I really love listening to your voice. I could listen to it forever." Her eyes widened when she realized what she had just told him. "I mean, I really like your voice. It's really good."

"It's okay, Brie. I could listen to your voice forever too. I love it."

She breathed a sigh of relief glad that the tension was gone. "Thank you." She yawned and leaned her head on Troy's shoulder while the music lulled her to sleep.

Troy noticed that she was asleep and took to heart what she had said about his voice. He looked over his shoulder and whispered to Kelsi careful not to shift Gabriella.

"Kels. Pst!" He waited for Kelsi to look at him.

"Hey." She replied rather loudly. She was shushed by Troy. "Sorry. Why are we whispering?"

"Do you know how to make a CD?"

"I have a few recording stuff at my house for when I get inspired. Why?"

Troy shared his plan with Kelsi. "You really want to do that?"

"Yeah. She said that she really likes it when I sing to her. We can do it over the summer. But I need you to find a song for me. If I give you the title can you find it? If you can't find it, can I sing it for you and can you figure out the chords and notes?"

"I'll do my best."

"All right. I'll talk to you more about it later. I think I'm going to follow Brie and my dad's examples. I'm beat."

"All right."

Troy settled into his seat and shifted his position so that he could better support Gabriella's head and be more comfortable. He smiled when he saw that he hadn't woken her up, before he drifted off to sleep.

* * *

The Wildcats walked into the resort at Walt Disney World and admired the lobby. It was beautiful. They waited excitedly as the adults got the room keys.

"All right. The girls will be in room 1214; the boys will be in 1215; Maria will be in room 1216; and Jack and I will be in room 1217." Lucille explained to everyone. She handed Troy and Gabriella the room keys, and they made their way up to their rooms.

The all hurried through the hallways looking like little kids. They all reached their rooms and the boys and girls went to their separate temporary homes.

"Guys, there is a kitchen and a fridge!" Chad exclaimed. "Yes! We can just get groceries and Zeke can cook for us!"

"Hey, what am I, your personal chef?"

"Yes, man. What else?"

Troy interrupted them. "Hey, guys. Let's get all settled and go to one of the parks."

"All right." Chad said reluctantly closing the refrigerator.

* * *

The Wildcats went to the lobby and tried to decide which park to go to first. The concierge recommended that they go to the smallest park first. They all agreed since the day was almost done anyways. They all took the tram to Hollywood Studios. The adults had told them to go ahead without them, so they went inside with their park hoppers.

"Hey, look, mine has Mickey Mouse on it." Jason said pointing to the picture on his park hopper clearly entertained.

"What the heck?!" Chad exclaimed. "Mine has Belle!"

They all laughed at Chad but soon stopped and marveled at the sight that awaited them.

Gabriella pointed to a cart. "Hey, guys, look at this! They have those Disney pins over here. Oh, here's Tinker Bell and The Chronicles of Narnia and oh, here's one, I've never seen it before, it says High School Mu—"

Chad cut her off. "Dude, check out the giant hat!" They all looked straight ahead of them and saw the giant hat.

They all walked to it and stared.

"Would you all like a picture?"

They turned around and saw one of the photographers of the park.

"Yes, please." Martha said.

"All right, ready, one…two…three!"

They all posed and the photographer handed them the ticket for their picture.

"So where do you guys want to go?" Troy asked them as he pulled out the map.

"Dude, we have to absolutely without a doubt have to go to the Tower of Terror." Chad said determinedly.

"Oh, we can also go to that Rock 'n' Roller Coaster. It's right next to it." Zeke said.

"Hold on, guys." Taylor told them. "We should get those fast passes. Those rides will take forever to wait for. Let's go get the fast passes and then come back and go to that movie ride over there." She pointed in the direction of a Chinese looking building.

"Well, all right. Let's go." Chad exclaimed.

"Oh, we should go to Fantasmic at eight-thirty." Gabriella said pointing to the map.

"Gabs, do we have to see a show?" Chad complained.

"Oh, come on. It looks pretty good."

All of them looked skeptical. "Oh, fine." She said defeated.

"I'll go with you, Brie." Troy offered.

"Really?" She asked.

"Yeah. It looks pretty cool."

Chad coughed something that sounded like the word "whipped."

Troy, Gabriella, and Taylor glared at him. Taylor whacked him on the back of the head. "You are so inconsiderate! I think that it's sweet that Troy will go with her when none of us will."

Chad looked taken aback. "When I said 'whipped' I meant sweet." He tried to convince her. "All right, we'll go, but can we go to the ten o' clock showing so that we can get more stuff done? The park closes at ten so that shouldn't interfere with any of rides." Taylor smirked.

"Who's whipped now?" Zeke teased.

"Shut up, Zeke!" Chad said.

Gabriella smiled and heartily agreed to Chad's idea. She thought it would be fun if they all saw it together, and she knew that Chad would like the show. They could get more stuff done. Besides, it wasn't like this wasn't the last time they would be coming to this park. They still had the rest of the week.

They all went over to the fast pass ticket booth and got their fast passes for later in the day.

"All right, let's go over to the Movie Ride."

They all weaved their way through the crowds and finally got to their first ride and waited patiently in line.

"Hey, guys look. It's a horse from 'Mary Poppins Merry-Go-Round."

"And here is Susan's clothes from 'The Chronicles of Narnia.'"

"I guess this ride is sort've old now." Troy mentioned.

"Why would you say that, Troy?"

"Well, look, we're already here." Sure enough, they all turned around and saw that they had reached the car for the ride.

They were able to get the first two rows and waited while the guide got into the car.

A man got up to the front of the car. "Hello, I am your tour guide Bob. Just Bob. You'd think that they'd give me a really fancy Hollywood name like Zac Efron or Corbin Bleu, but no, it's just…Bob." He hung his head before he laughed. "Just kidding. I love my name. It's so simple and easy to remember."

He pointed to Chad sitting right in front of him. "Hey, man. I like your hair. How did you get it like that? Did a chia pet die on your head or did you walk into the barber's shop and asked him to make it look like the bush outside the shop?" Chad glared, but the gang laughed knowing how much pride he took in his wild hair. "I'm just kidding. I seriously do like it though, but anyways…

"This is the part when I give a breath-taking speech, so bear with me. In a few moments we will enter into the land of make believe where movies come to life, where fiction becomes facts, where…oh look they gave the okay to go."

He started the car and off they went into the ride. They entered a room. It looked like a 1920's gangster movie. The window shops were broken and gangsters in pin-stripe suits were hiding behind dumpsters and were standing in doorways.

"Oh, hold on, Folks. We're going through a pretty rough neighborhood." He stopped the car.

Gun shots rang through the room. "Duck! We're in the middle of a gun fight!"

Another voice yelled, "They're about to overrun us, Boys! Split up! I'm going to take this car and meet you at headquarters." A mobster went up to Bob. "Get out."

"No, this is my tour."

He pointed a gun to him. "Get out." He said more forcefully.

"Um…all right, Folks. Nothing to worry about. I'll be back." He said in his best terminator voice and ran off.

"All now. How do you work this thing?"

Troy looked at Chad and was amused to see him clutching Taylor's arm for dear life.

The gangster started the car and went through to the next movie set. It was a western movie. They were in a old town, and somewhere, Indians could be heard.

The mobster pulled out his gun and started shooting the air. "Red Necks! Get down!"

They passed through to another room. This room looked like the inside of a pyramid. There was a statue of what seemed to be an Egyptian god. A large ruby was placed at the top of a flight of stairs.

"Hold on." The man stopped the car again and got out. "I'm going to get that big jewel. Nobody leaves the car or else."

He ran up the flight of steps and hesitated before pulling the jewel off. "Hm…I expected some sort of booby trap or something." As soon as he said it, the ground beneath him started smoking and he disappeared, a hooded figure taking his place at the top of the stairs.

The hooded person took off the cloak and thrust it to the side revealing Bob.

"Ah. Don't you love movie magic?" He asked. "All right everyone. Let's get a move on."

The next room they went into was the famous Wizard of Oz set.

"Wow, look at all of these munchkins! They must not be used to seeing hair that looks like the flying monkeys." He gestured at Chad again, and Chad laughed along with everyone else. "We'd better go before we run into the Wicked Witch of the—uh oh. Too late."

The Witch of the West came out. "Let's go before she sets fire to this guy's hair."

They passed through a "Mary Poppins" set and a "Dancing in the Rain" before they arrived in a dark room. "Ladies and Gentlemen, our tour is almost at a conclusion, but let's take a look at the screen and relive some movie magic."

Everyone turned their attention to the screen and watched as a collage of films. When it was done, they were back at the entrance.

"Well, that's it for the movie ride. We thank you for joining us and hope that you have a wonderful time at Disney's Hollywood Studios. Have a good day."

The gang went back outside and decided that they'd go to the Star Wars ride before they got their dinner and went to the roller coaster rides before they went to the show.

"That dude's jokes were terrible!" Chad said.

"On the contrary they were hilarious! You're only mad because they were all about you." Jason retorted.

"No, there were some really corny ones too."

"They're tour guides. We're going to have them all week. They're great!"

* * *

Chad came out of the Rock 'n' Roller Coaster not feeling too good. "That roller coaster was awesome!" He yelled.

"Glad that you enjoyed yourself." Taylor said.

"Hey, guys, let's go. We have to get to the Tower of Terror before eight thirty." Gabriella urged.

"But Gabs, the show isn't till ten." Chad complained in a five-year-old voice.

"So? We want to get good seats. Don't we?"

Everyone nodded and they made their way to the Tower of Terror.

Gabriella held Troy's hand as they made their way through the line.

"You okay, Brie?"

"Yeah. I'm good. It's just that I hate it when Rod Sterling does that voice. It really creeps me out." The other girls nodded in agreement.

"Okay…do you guys want the front?" Zeke asked.

"They don't have a choice Zeke." Chad said in an evil voice. "We're in the Twilight Zone. No one has a choice."

"Chad, do not do that!" Taylor smacked his arm.

"Ow! Just having a Rod Sterling moment."

"Well, it's creepy…and corny."

They all filed into the elevator. They were given the usual warning of keeping hands and feet inside the elevator at all times and with that, the ride commenced.

* * *

"That was the scariest…best ride ever!" Kelsi exclaimed.

Everyone agreed.

"Time to get seated." Troy told them. They made their way to the Fantasmic courtyard. They were the first ones there.

"Way to go, Gabs. No one's here."

"Shut up, Chad. You're going to thank me for this later." Gabriella retorted.

They waited for half an hour before an attendant let them get choose their seats.

They waited patiently as seats filled with people. At ten o'clock the lights dimmed and the music started.

They watched as the "Lion King", "Pocahontas", "Beauty and the Beast", "The Little Mermaid", "Snow White", and a whole assortment of Disney Villains were put into a Medley.

At the end of the show Chad went up to Gabriella. "Gabs, I owe you a _huge _apology. That was the…best, most amazing show in the world! It was so cool when Mickey fought that dragon and when the princesses came out and danced with their princes."

Everyone stared at him. "I-I mean when all of those animals came out and danced."

"Apology accepted, Chad." She laughed and threw Troy a knowing look. So far, this vacation was turning out to be the best one ever. This really was the happiest place on earth.

* * *

A/N: All right. They're on vacation now. I really enjoyed this episode. It was fun to write. I know that I didn't really dwell on the weeks before this, but I wanted to get to this chapter. Sorry I haven't updated in a little while. I had to do some last minute work for my Honor's English Class. Anyways, school starts nexst week for me, so I will try my best to update. Thanks. Please Review. :)


	11. Chapter 11: Breakout

_Disclaimer: I do not own HSM. __**There is a very, very, very important author's note at the end. Please, please, please read it. I know that it's long, but it's super important.**_

Chapter 11: Breakout

_We're gonna breakout, let the party start,_

_We're gonna stay our, gonna break some hearts,_

_We're gonna dance till the dance floor falls apart, uh oh all over again_

_We're gonna wake up, everyone we know,_

_We're gonna have some fun, we're gonna lose control_

_It feels so good, to let go_

* * *

The next day, everyone was still excited about and talking about yesterday. They all showed Jack, Lucille, and Maria the pictures that they had taken yesterday.

Today, they decided that they would go to Magic Kingdom. They all boarded the monorail and got off at the entrance to the park.

"This is awesome." Zeke said. Everyone agreed.

They all stared at the entrance that awaited them. It was as if they had stepped back in time fifty years. On either side of them were candy stores, restaurants, theatres, and gift shops.

They walked until they came to a traffic circle. A road branched off at certain points, clearly leading to a different part of the park.

"Let's take a picture in front of the Cinderella castle." Taylor insisted.

The boys didn't really want to.

"We took a picture in front of the giant hat in the other park. We have to take one here. Come on. We'll want to look back on this vacation years from now, and we won't be able to do that unless we take pictures. Now let's hurry so we can get this over with and ride rides."

They all got in front of the castle and patiently smiled and posed for the photographer who offered to take pictures for them.

Tomorrowland was the first stop for our Wildcats.

They all enjoyed watching Stitch's Great Escape, riding Space Mountain and a whole other assortment of rides in Tomorrowland, and enjoyed sitting and relaxing through Walt Disney's Carousel of Progress.

They returned to the traffic circle once again and decided on going to Adventureland. They all went on Pirate's of the Caribbean and enjoyed sitting on the boat watching the robots do pirate things.

They went on the jungle cruise and watched a twenty-year-old girl hold on to her best friend for dear life because she was so scared of the animatronics.

Chad leaned over to Zeke. "I think that the two-year-old sitting next to us is enjoying the ride more than she is."

The next stop was Frontierland. They all liked the roller coasters that it provided: Splash Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. The girls reluctantly accompanied the boys to Tom Sawyer's Island so that they could play with their newly acquired plastic pirate swords. The visit seemed to be worth it when Chad lost his footing and landed in a pond.

Famished from all the energy they were exerting, they grabbed some lunch and some funnel cake before heading over to Liberty Square to ride the Haunted Mansion.

The last "land" they visited was Fantasyland.

"Come on, guys, please come with us to Fantasyland?" Gabriella pleaded.

"No." They all answered in unison. They all started listing the rides that they would rather go on.

Gabriella sighed and put on her best doe eyes on before once again sighing and saying, "Troy?"

Troy rubbed his forehead. He could never, ever say no to her when she did that. "I'm in."

Gabriella smiled knowing that she had done it again.

The guys stared at him disbelievingly. "Oh, come on guys, it'll be fun."

The boys went reluctantly, to all of the rides that the land provided.

"Oh come on, you guys enjoyed the rides, just admit it." Kelsi told them.

"No, actually we didn't." Chad said.

"I didn't hear you complaining when you were trying to get me to look at Peter Pan and Wendy." Taylor told him.

"I swear, if I hear "It's a small world" one more time, I'm going to die." Jason added. "That song was so annoying! And the kids that were singing it freaked me out."

They all laughed. Their day had been long; it was almost time for the fireworks over the Cinderella Castle. They waited patiently with the rest of the crowd for the show to start. They watched as the sky lit up with different color, the music affecting the fireworks as they lit up the night sky. Caught up in the moment, Troy kissed Gabriella. It was ironic, he thought. He had always felt fireworks when he kissed her, now they had real ones shooting above them.

* * *

The next day, they were extremely tired from all the walking they had done yesterday in a short period of time. Chad had brought a device that told you how many miles they had walked, and it ended up being more then eight miles. (That is seriously how many miles you can walk a day in Disney World. Just a random fact. Anyways.)

They decided to take easy today. They still had five more days to visit and revisit the parks. They decided upon visiting Animal Kingdom next.

They took the tram to the park and entered into a whole different world. Unlike the other parks, this one resembled more of a zoo, though retaining its Disney touch.

A large island with a giant tree stood in the middle of the park.

"I don't know about you guys, but if there's one ride I'm riding today, it's going to be Expedition Everest." Chad said.

Everyone agreed so they went to the other side of the park to get the fast pass for the ride and the rapids.

While they waited for the required time to return, they went to: Dinoland U.S.A. and rode the mini coaster and the dinosaur ride; and Asia and walked through the mini zoo.

The zoo took up most of the time so they were able to go to the fast pass rides right after.

"Dude, and then the yeti almost grabbed Zeke's head!" Jason exclaimed.

"It did not. It was like thirty feet away from me!" Zeke retorted.

"Hey, Gabs, are you feeling okay?" Chad asked. Troy's head whipped towards Gabriella.

Gabriella didn't hear him. She had her hand at her forehead, and she had a pained expression.

"Gabs?"

She heard him this time and replied. "Huh?"

"Are you feeling okay?" He asked again.

"Yeah. Fine. Why do you ask?"

"You didn't look like someone who's having the time of their lives just a moment ago. You feeling okay?"

Troy approached her.

"I just have a little headache. It's nothing."

Troy put his hand to her forehead. "You know, Brie, you're feeling kind of warm."

The group surrounded her. "Guys, I feel fine. It's just a headache. I'll feel fine in a little bit."

"Brie, if you're sick, I think that you should just rest up for the day. We still have the rest of the week to catch up with the parks." Troy said concerned.

"Troy, I'm fine."

But Troy didn't hear her. He'd already pulled out his cell phone and called his dad. While the Wildcats were going around the park, the adults ventured off on their own. They were only there for emergencies.

"Hey, Dad. Where are you?"

"Right now, we're having a relaxing time sitting on the African safari ride. Why?"

"Well, Gabriella has a headache, and I think I'm going to take her back to the hotel just in case she's sick." He ignored Gabriella's protests in the background and continued. "Can I take to Ms. Montez?"

"Sure. Hold on. Maria, Troy would like a word with you. Here."

"Hello?"

"Hey, Ms. Montez. Gabriella has a headache." He repeated.

"Is she okay?"

"Yeah. She just has a headache."

"All right. Thank you for telling me, Troy. I'll be right there as soon as we're done here."

"No, no Ms. Montez, you just stay here. I'll take care of her." He insisted.

"Are you sure, Troy? I wouldn't want to spoil your day."

"Neither would I!" Gabriella yelled, but Troy ignored her.

"No, really, it's fine. If there's an emergency, I'll just call you."

"Okay. Thank you for telling me, Troy."

"It's no problem. Bye." He hung up the phone and turned towards the group. "Okay, let's go, Brie."

"Troy, I already told you I'm fine."

"I don't care. You're coming with me even if I have to carry you kicking and screaming."

Gabriella considered his threat knowing that he would do it should she not go quietly. She didn't want to be carried around the park like that. "Ugh! Fine. Have it your way! Happy?"

"Very. Now come on. We'll see you guys later." Troy told them. He took Gabriella by the hand and led her to the hotel.

Troy took Gabriella's key from her and opened the girls' room.

"Wow, you're room is wayyyy cleaner than ours." He commented.

"We're girls. We're born clean." She sat on the couch, but she wasn't there long before Troy pulled her up and led her to the rooms. "Now which one is your bed?"

She pointed to the bed by the window. "Taylor and I share that bed. Troy, I don't understand why I can't just lay on the couch."

"Because I said so. You're staying in bed until I say so. Now lay down."

She did as she was told and got under the covers while Troy climbed on top of them layed next to her. He propped himself up on the pillows.

"I don't know why you're being so protective." She mentioned.

"It's you. I'm always going to be protective."

"I just have a headache. I don't even know why."

"Maybe it was last week catching up with you."

"What are you talking about?"

"Brie, you had like three tests, a paper, and a bunch of quizzes last week. You push yourself way too hard. Your body's probably just now catching up with your lack of sleep that you had last week. I swear, you were a walking zombie."

She laughed at his joke. She never thought about that. Now that she thought about it, though, Troy was right. Last week had been a really hectic week. She'd probably only gotten a few hours sleep each night, and now she felt exhausted.

Before she knew it, she was asleep.

Gabriella woke up feeling a lot better. She looked out the window and noticed that the sun was about to set. She looked next to her and noticed that Troy wasn't there. She heard the door open.

"Troy?"

He walked into the room and sat on the bed. "Hey, Sleeping Beauty."

"Hey, did you go out?"

"Yeah. Just for a few minutes. We fell asleep and when I woke up, I didn't want to disturb you. You look beautiful when you sleep by the way."

She blushed, and he continued. "I just went exploring around the hotel. I found this really cool place, and I'll show it to you later."

"Can I see it now?" She asked hopeful. She was feeling a lot better.

"No. You aren't going anywhere until I say so. You might still be sick." He said firmly.

"Troy, I feel a lot better. A few hours sleep was all I needed. My headache's gone, and I don't feel as warm anymore. See?" She took his hand and pressed it to her forehead.

He felt it and had to admit to himself that she didn't feel as warm as before.

"So what's the diagnostic, Dr. Bolton?"

He sighed. "Fine. You have my permission. I'll show you, but you're wearing a sweater."

She was about to protest, but she knew that he wouldn't let her go if she didn't obey him, so she went into her suitcase and took out a light jacket. They made their way to the lobby, and Troy led her to the back of the hotel.

Once outside, they walked a little farther and ended up in a garden. A gazebo was in the middle of it lit by paper lanterns. By that time the sun had set, and lights were on in the bushes and trees.

"Troy, it's beautiful."

"I thought you might like it. It reminded me of our garden back home."

He brought her to the gazebo. "Can I have this dance?"

She laughed. "Troy, there's no music, and I don't think that you're going to sing. Your voice has been going in and out all day since you screamed like a girl on that dinosaur ride."

"Oh ha ha. That T-rex was pretty scary. It came out of nowhere. Come on. We don't need the music to dance."

He pulled her close to him, and she wound her arms around his neck while he put his hands on her waist. They swayed back and forth in the twilight with the invisible music.

* * *

Taylor let the rest of the gang into the room to check on Gabriella. She and Troy were sitting on the couch watching American Idol. They turned around when the door opened.

"So you're feeling better?" Taylor asked.

"Yup. Like I said it was just a headache. A few hours of sleep, and I was good to go. I told you there was nothing to worry about." She said looking at Troy.

"Hey, is it bad if I worry about my girlfriend? I promise I'm always going to be there to protect you."

All her resent against him vanished, and she was about to kiss him when…

"All right, seriously, you guys had like all afternoon to do that. Please." Chad said.

"Chad…I thought we had past that point in our relationship when you stop interrupting us." Troy said.

"Nope." He said smiling. "Sorry."

"So how did the rest of the day go?" Gabriella asked.

"It wasn't as much fun without you both, but we walked around the rest of the park afterwards. I'm so tired." Taylor said.

"Well, we'd better get some rest." Troy said. "I here you have to walk a ton at Epcot. I'll see you tomorrow." He said kissing Gabriella on the cheek. Troy turned to Chad. "Happy now?"

"Very. Thank you."

Troy shook his head and turned his attention back to Gabriella. "Night."

"Night."

"Dude. I vote that we just go back to animal kingdom. This Epcot doesn't look to great." Chad said.

"Yeah, I'd rather ride It's a Small World again. I mean, check out that huge globe. It looks lame." Jason added.

"Jase, that's a ride." Martha told him.

"Seriously?!" Chad and Jason asked simultaneously.

"Yeah. Let's do the Mission: Space first though. I heard that that ride's pretty awesome." Gabriella said.

"Yeah. They use that spinning machine that NASA uses. It goes pretty fast." Taylor said.

They all agreed to do that ride first. The lines were pretty short for the rest of the major rides in the vicinity so they rode those as well.

"Now what's the deal with this World Showcase?" Chad asked.

"It's supposed to educate you on the countries of the world like Morocco, China, Germany. Stuff like that." Gabriella told him.

"Aw, man! I thought that we came on this vacation to get away from school." Chad complained.

Troy spotted something that might just make Chad change his mind. "Hey, Dude. Check it out. It looks like you get to make some masks over here."

Troy walked up to the lady, and the gang followed. "Excuse me. But what are these masks for?" He asked.

"Well, you get to decorate your own mask and then you go to all of the countries and get a stamp saying that you've been there. You also get these paper cuts." She held up a small paper cut ship. "Of course, they're different for each country."

"Would it be okay if my friend here does it? I know it's like for the little kids, but he's pretty much one."

She laughed. "Sure. You can all do one if you want. It's not just for little kids."

"Sweet!" Chad exclaimed.

They all got to decorating their own masks. Each of them came out with something different. Troy and Chad's were decorated in basketballs; Taylor, Gabriella, and Martha drew something educational on them; Kelsi had musical notes on hers; Zeke had baking utensils; and Jason, well, he just had a little bit of everything.

Each time they went to a new country, Chad and Jason would always get all crazy. After being to every single one of the countries, most of the day had passed, and Chad had already had a great time.

"So, Chad what have we learned today?" Taylor asked.

"That I should just keep my mouth shut and that I should just listen to whatever Gabs has to say because Hoops is going to make me do it anyways?"

"That and…anything else?"

Chad sighed. "Learning can be fun." He admitted gloomily. "But this stays within our group. No one repeats."

"Very good job, Chad. So would you like to stay for the fireworks ensemble that's scheduled in an hour?" Gabriella asked.

"You know what, Gabs. Sure. I've learned my lesson. I can never, ever say no to you. That pout of yours gets me every time."

"Tell me about it." Troy said.

So without arguing, the whole gang found an amazing spot to watch the fireworks.

* * *

The Wildcats made their way to the airport days later having had one of the most enjoyable vacations ever.

"So what were your favorite parts?" Jack asked.

Chad spoke up. "Oh, I liked all the roller coasters and all the shows that Gabs forced me to watch."

"Ha! I told you that you would love them!" She said.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. We know you're already a genius. You don't have to remind me."

"I think I loved the music the most. Especially Fantasmic. I really loved the arrangement." Kelsi said.

"My favorite part was everything." Jason said. "I can't choose one."

They all agreed to that.

"Well, my favorite part," Gabriella said. "Was being able to hang out with all of my friends."

"Aww!" they all said.

"Group hug!" Chad yelled out.

After they all got resituated, Gabriella sat down next to Troy.

"You want to know what my favorite part was?" Troy asked her.

"What?"

He took her hands into his. "Being able to spend everyday with you."

She smiled. "Well, you want to know what my absolute favorite part was without a doubt?"

"And what would that be?"

"Our secret garden. It was the most beautiful thing I've ever seen." She said.

"I know something that could beat it." He said in an as a matter of factly tone.

"And what would that be, Wildcat?"

He smiled before he answered. He simply said. "You."

* * *

A/N: Okay, this chapter in my opinion is not the best thing I've ever written. I really didn't know how to approach this, but I did the best I could with what I had. Sorry if it disappointed. I promise that the next chapters will be _way _better. Even though I know it's junk, I would really like to know what you thought of this chapter so please, please, please review because I seriously need feedback from you readers. To make it up to you for doing a not so great job, I've already uploaded the next chapter up.

Thank you for those who have reviewed. I really need you readers to review because they really boost an author's confidence. If you're an author you know how much reviews help. So please help me by giving reviews, and I'll help you by writing amazing chapters that you can enjoy reading. Thanks so much for sticking with me!


	12. Chapter 12: True Friend

_Disclaimer: I do not own HSM_

Chapter 12: True Friend

_You're a true friend_

_You're here till the end_

_You pull me aside when somethin' ain't right_

_Talk with me now and into night_

_Till it's all right again_

_You're a true friend_

* * *

The rest of Spring Break was pretty uneventful for the Wildcats. They still hung out, watched some movies, and listened to some music, but they missed their adventures in Florida. Before they knew it, it was the first day back to school.

* * *

"Ms. Montez. Just who I wanted to see."

Gabriella turned around and saw Principle Matsui approaching her. He was followed closely behind by a tall girl with strawberry blonde hair whom Gabriella had never seen before.

"How was your Spring Break? I heard that you and some friends were able to go to Florida."

"Yes. It was a lot of fun, but very tiring." She was happy that he was showing an interest at how their trip went, but she had a feeling that he was over here for a different reason. "Um…Principal Matsui, who's this?"

"Ah nothing escapes your eye, Ms. Montez. This is Ashley Appleton. She's just enrolled at East High. Ashley, this is Gabriella Montez. She was a new student not too long ago and has blossomed into a wonderful addition to East High. Would you be her guide today, Ms. Montez? She is in your homeroom."

"Sure. Hey, Ashley. Has anyone showed you where homeroom is?"

"No. This school is huge. I don't think I'll ever be able to find my way around."

"You'll get used to it."

"Go on, girls. Get to class."

Gabriella led Ashley through the hallways maneuvering through the mass of students each trying to get to their own homeroom. Gabriella pointed out class rooms as they passed them. Ashley didn't seem to take an interest in them. She was more interested in the boys that were walking past. It was starting to become clear that Ashley and Gabriella had different interests. They finally reached Ms. Darbus's room.

"Here it is." Gabriella said to Ashley.

Gabriella took Ashley to Ms. Darbus and introduced her. Ashley handed Ms. Darbus the papers that Principle Matsui had instructed her to give the homeroom teacher. After everything with Darbus had been settled, Ashley turned around and got a good look at the class. She drew her attention to a short girl with glasses who was with a girl who had a book in one hand and her iPod in the other. They were both talking to a girl who seemed to be quizzing them on a subject that they had later in the day.

She diverted her eyes to a group of guys. One guy was short and had dark hair; he was talking to a taller guy who was handing him cookies. A guy with an afro had a basketball, and he was talking to _the _hottest guy she had ever seen in real life. She was a big fan of Zac Efron's looks, but she had never met him in person.

"All set?" Gabriella asked.

"Yeah." Ashley said not taking her eyes off Troy.

"I'll introduce you to a few people." Gabriella took her over to Taylor, Martha, and Kelsi much to Ashley's disappointment. She would rather be with the guy she had seen. "Hey, guys. This is Ashley. She's new."

"Hi, Ashley. I'm Taylor. This is Martha and Kelsi."

"Hi." The other girls said in unison.

"Hi." Ashley greeted still staring at Troy. She quickly changed the subject. "So um…who's that guy in the red and white shirt?"

Gabriella took the lead here. "Oh. That's Troy."

"So what's his status in this school? A jock or just a good looking guy."

"Um…he's the captain of the basketball team; he's on the golf team; he's the most popular guy in school; and he has a—" Taylor told her.

"Oh. A jock. He's really hot." Ashley said impressed. "So does he have a girlfriend?"

"Actually he does, and she's—"

Taylor was cut off when Ashley answered herself apparently not hearing a thing that Taylor had just said.

"What am I talking about? He's the most popular guy in school of course he has a girlfriend. So let me guess. She's blonde right. He seems like that type of guy." She saw Sharpay walk in and pointed to her. "It's her isn't it? She's his girlfriend. What's her name?"

"Sharpay." Gabriella smiled.

The way Ashley was thinking was exactly how she thought whenever she moved to another school, but this one was different. Troy was the difference. She didn't expect the new girl to expect her to be Troy's girlfriend. A lot of people wouldn't. He was a jock, and she was a braniac. They were different, but through everything they had pulled through and were still together.

"Actually Troy is—" Gabriella said but she was cut off by Sharpay.

"Attention, everyone." Everyone turned their heads toward her. "I'm finally back from Paris: the city of lights. AKA the most wonderful mall on the face of the planet. I just wanted to let you know, because I know that you all missed me terribly."

"I didn't miss you one bit, Evans!" Chad called out.

She ignored him but not before glaring at him and continuing. "Anyways, I would just like to remind you that my—" Ryan cleared his throat. "_Our _birthday party is going to be this Friday. Sadly, only a few people can come to it. The five-star hotel wouldn't allow more than fifty teens in the room. Don't be disappointed if you don't make the cut. Remember it's not because you weren't cool it was just because I don't know your names. That's all." A few people rolled their eyes. "Hi, Troy!"

"Ah. See? I knew it. It's the same thing everywhere I go." Ashley watched as Troy waved at her though she didn't notice the expression on his face.

She was proud that she had already pin-pointed everyone. The jocks and the braniacs. She knew that Gabriella and her friends were braniacs by the way the poured over the books. She would have to find some other people to hang out with before she was labeled as one of them.

She was caught off guard when Troy got up and walked over to where they were. Ashley excitedly began to fix herself and purse her lips. Maybe she had been wrong this time. Maybe he didn't have a girlfriend. Maybe he was coming over to her to ask her out. Maybe—

Hold on.

Troy walked past Ashley and over to Gabriella and gave her a chaste kiss. "How was your spring break?"

_Okay, what just happened? _Ashley asked herself. _Was I somehow tossed into another dimension in a second? The hottest and most popular guy in school, possibly on the face of the planet, just walked up to a braniac and kissed her! Kissed her!!!_

Taylor enjoyed watching the silent reaction on Ashley's face. She didn't like the way Ashley interrupted her or how she was judging Troy. He was one of her best friends. Not to mention her best friend's boyfriend.

"What are you talking about? You saw me for most of it." Gabriella replied back giggling. She could see Ashley's face just over Troy's shoulders. She didn't mean for Ashley to find out that way. Oh well.

"It's nice to know all the same." She gave him a quick kiss. Luckily for them, Ms. Darbus was talking to Sharpay about the upcoming Spring Musicale.

"Does that say enough?" She asked.

"Maybe. Could you repeat that please?" He asked her.

Gabriella repeated her past action and pulled back to smile at him.

"You guys are extra gross today." Chad commented from his seat. "Did you guys have fun during the rest of Spring Break?"

Troy rolled his eyes and turned to look at his best friend. "Do you mind, Chad? You really have no sense of timing do you?"

"Actually. He's right." Taylor defended. "You guys are flirting more than normal. What happened while we weren't with you?" Taylor asked.

"Don't know; don't care." Troy said. He turned back to Gabriella and gave her yet another kiss. Chad said something about having to sterilize his eyes later, and Troy turned to give him a witty comeback. He stopped and noticed Ashley for the first time. "Oh. Hello." He stepped towards her and shook her hand. "I'm Troy."

"Oh. Ashley. I just moved here." She said batting her eyelashes at him. He was completely oblivious to them.

"Ah. Where did you move from?"

"Michigan."

"Oh. Sweet." He replied without enthusiasm. She didn't seem to notice.

"Hey, Ashley, I'm Chad. Official best bud of this guy right here."

That interested her. "It's nice to meet you."

"And I assume you have already met this great girl right here." He said motioning towards Taylor.

"Yeah."

The warning bell rang and Ashley made her way to an empty seat across the room and started to think up a plan.

Troy stayed near Gabriella's desk to talk to her a little more. "So what's the deal with Ashley?"

"She's a new student, and Principal Matsui asked me to be her guide for the day."

"Why?" His tone sounded less than approving to Gabriella's ears.

"Troy, you have no idea what it feels like to be the new student at a new school with kids who've known each other for years. It's a scary thing. I'm just lucky that when I came to East High I knew you."

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that. I'm glad that you are going out of your way to befriend her. But there is a difference between Ashley and you."

"And that would be?"

"You," he said pulling her chin up so that she was looking straight at him, "Are absolutely without a doubt way more beautiful."

She smiled and tilted her head up as he brought his head down. The bell rang as soon as they were done with their lip lock.

Troy took his seat, and Gabriella looked over at Ashley and swore that she had the same look that Sharpay wore when she was thinking about something devious. But maybe it was just her imagination.

* * *

Gabriella was walking over with Ashley to the cafeteria. They got their lunches and went over to where the gang was sitting.

"Hey, guys." Gabriella greeted.

"Hey, Gabs." Chad said. "Hey, Ashley."

"Hi." Ashley replied shyly.

She thought about her plan to keep her popular streak. Ever since her dad told the family that they'd be moving around, she promised herself that she would become popular within one week and get a boyfriend. In the years prior, she had succeeded.

That included not hanging out with Gabriella and her friends. It didn't matter if Gabriella was dating the most popular guy in school. They were still braniacs in her eyes and the rest of the school. Too bad Ashley didn't know what had happened earlier in the semester.

She decided that Sharpay was her best shot at that popularity. So she would spend some her free time trying to woo Sharpay into being her friend.

And then there was the matter of the boyfriend. She saw some cute guys between classes, but none of them compared to Troy. Well, if she got Troy to be her boyfriend, then that would solve the Gabriella problem. This was going to be a competition. Too bad she didn't know that Sharpay was in the competition too.

"Hey, Ashley. You okay?" She heard Zeke ask.

"Oh yeah. Just thinking."

"About what?" Jason asked.

"Oh…just about how…lucky I am to have new friends."

"We're glad too." Gabriella added.

Troy was less than thrilled with this new addition to the gang. He didn't know why Ashley bothered him. It was just this feeling that he got.

"Well, Hoops and I are going to go shoot some hoops before class starts. I miss the hard court. Besides, I need something to distract me from the next class with Darbus." Chad said.

"Aren't you worried about cramps?" Taylor asked concerned.

"Don't worry. We won't work ourselves up too hard." Chad assured her.

"Hey, Gabriella. Maybe we could go see them. Basketball season is over, and I want to see just how good these guys really are."

"You don't—She doesn't…she doesn't know how good we are?" Chad asked shocked. "Ashley, we won the New Mexico state championships. That's how good we are."

"Prove it." She challenged.

"Oh. Okay. Just come when you're done." He challenged.

And with that, Chad and Troy were on their way to the gym.

* * *

"Man, she is cool. Don't you think?"

"Um…she's okay."

"What? She's totally cool. Why aren't you okay with her."

"I don't know. I just have this bad feeling about her. Like something bad is going to happen." Troy tried to think of something that Chad could relate to with this. "It's like the feeling you get when you let the basketball fly from your fingers, and once it's gone, you know that you're going to miss the shot. Like that bad anticipation."

"Ohhh." Chad said. Understanding finally dawning on him. "Are you sure that you aren't a little jealous?"

Troy scoffed. "Why, in the world, would I be jealous of Ashley?"

"I don't know. She's been hanging out with Gabs a lot lately…"

"Only this morning. I think I have been away from Brie a little longer than that. Don't you remember how I got along without her for a weekend thanks to you."

"We promised that we would put that behind us. Besides that is totally different. She's actually hanging out with another person willingly, and she's not mad at you. This morning pretty much proved that. No matter how disgusting it was. I thought that she didn't like showing that much public affection."

"I don't know what came over me. But once it starts, I can't seem to want to stop. Can you blame me? I mean she is—"

He put his fingers in his ear and chanted "La la la la, I can't hear you. La la la la la la."

"Why are you doing that?"

"Hoops, since Gabs has joined our big happy family, I've thought of her as my little sister and Lord knows I don't think about my little sisters like that."

Troy sighed. "Fine. I don't see how it matters. You've talked about Taylor like that in front of me, and I don't mind."

"Are you saying that Taylor isn't like your sister, Troy?"

"No, I'm saying that-I mean-oh. Just forget it. Besides, here we are. Ready to get your butt kicked?"

"That sounds like a challenge. You are on, my friend."

* * *

Ashley ate rather quickly wanting to put her plan into action. Gabriella was forced to bring the rest of her lunch to the gym.

They walked in to find Troy kneeled down next to Chad laughing so hard he looked like her was crying. Chad, on the other hand, looked like he was in pain.

Gabriella ran up to them. "Are you all right?"

Chad groaned. "Ugh. No. Cramp."

"What happened?"

Troy had to take a few deep breaths before he was able to talk. "He was overdoing it just a bit much."

"Come on, Chad. I'll take you to the nurse's office to get some pain killers." Gabriella offered.

Troy helped Chad up so that Gabriella could take him over to the nurses. By the time they were gone, Troy had stopped laughing.

"Aww. I never got to see you play." Ashley complained.

"Oh, really there's nothing extraordinary about it. You just shoot the ball into the basket."

She suddenly got an idea. "Would you mind showing me?"

"Showing you what?"

"How to shoot a basket. I've never picked up a basketball in my life."

Troy had no idea that she was flirting with him, so he didn't think anything of it. "Um…yeah. Sure." He stood off to the side at first and attempted to show her how to shoot it. "Are you left handed or right?"

"Right."

"Okay, well you bring your left hand up. And your right hand goes there. Now, you're not going to move your left hand. That's your guiding hand. And your right hand goes up…" She tried, but she didn't too much of a good job at it.

"Could you help me?" She asked innocently.

"Sure." He took the position behind her and put his hands over hers.

She made it this time. Taylor chose that exact moment to walk in.

"Wow. You are really good." Ashley told him.

_Okay, maybe this girl isn't as bad as I thought she was. _Troy thought to himself.

Taylor cleared her throat. "Oh, hey, Taylor." Troy quickly took a step behind Ashley. "I was just showing Ashley how to shoot the um…ball."

"Mm hm." Taylor gave him a skeptical look.

Ashley sensed the tension. "Well, I'd better go and um…find my next class. I'll see you guys later."

She grabbed her books and went out of the gym. Troy looked at Taylor who still had the skeptical look on her face. "What?" He asked.

She continued to stare. "What was that?"

"What was what?" He asked not really sure of what she was accusing him for.

"That. Just now. What I walked in on. I came in here to get Gabriella's purse for her, and I come in here seeing that."

"I was just teaching her how to shoot the basketball. Nothing happened." He held up his hands in defense.

"Did you want anything to happen?"

"What? No! Of course not."

"Troy, I don't think that you should hang out with her anymore."

"Why? Nothing happened."

"That's not my point, Troy. Something could've happened. And it looked like something _was_ happening."

"But nothing did!"

"But what if something did?! What if something happened, but it wasn't me who walked in on you? It could've been Gabriella."

"I don't…"

"Really, Troy. You aren't that stupid. Just put two-and-two together. What if it was Gabriella who was in your position, and you walked in on her with a guy doing what you were doing with Ashley?!"

"Taylor, that wouldn't happen because Gabriella doesn't play basketball, and she already knows how to shoot a ball. I've seen her."

"That is not the point!"

"Taylor…"

"Troy, I'm just looking out for my best friend, all right? It's more than what you're doing." She walked out of the gym leaving him alone.

* * *

"So why was Taylor so mad when I talked to her?" Chad asked Troy.

He sighed. "After you left, Ashley wanted me to show her how to shoot the ball, so I did and that's when Taylor walked in."

"There's nothing wrong with that. It's not like you were showing her how to do it by…oh."

"Oh?"

"You didn't _tell _her how to do it did you? You really _showed _her how. Ah, Hoops, no wonder she's mad at you. It could've been Gabs instead of her."

"I don't get why it's such a big deal, and since when do you know anything about girls? You said that they were an alien species that invaded our planet."

"Well, that was before I met Tay. Look, Troy, I know that you didn't mean any harm by it, but please picture Gabs."

"No problem." Troy thought about her.

"You got her in your mind?"

"Yeah…"

"Okay. Now picture her in Alan Salazar's arms."

"Does it have to be Alan Salazar?"

"Yes. Just do it."

He did it, and he didn't like what he saw. "Oh, I'd better not do that anymore."

"Thank you, Hoops. Now if I'm not mistaken, you owe someone an apology."

* * *

"So what's up with you guys today?" Taylor asked Gabriella as they walked to their last class of the day.

"What do you mean?" She asked.

"I mean this morning. I thought you were opposed to that much PDA."

"I don't know. I was a little lazy with enforcing it today. You know, back to school and 'getting my head back in the game' as Troy and Chad would say."

"Um…about Troy…" She continued to relay to Gabriella what she had seen earlier in the gym.

"Taylor, I seriously think that you overreacted." Gabriella told her friend when Taylor told her about recent events. "He was just showing her how to shoot the ball."

"Well, she looked like she was enjoying a lot more than that. I told you to picture her in Troy's arms."

Gabriella really didn't want to think about that, but she didn't say anything. "I don't know, Tay. Troy would never do that. I trust him."

"I know that Troy would never do something to hurt you or betray your trust. He's a good guy. It's her I don't trust. I'm just looking out for you."

"I know, and I appreciate that, but can't you let me handle this on my own? I trust her."

"Gabriella!"

They turned around to find Ashley walking towards them. "Thank you so much for helping me through the school."

"You're welcome." Ashley gave her a hug, and Gabriella gave Taylor an I-told-you-so look.

* * *

A/N: There you go. This chapter is for making you all wait for so long and for not doing a fantastic job on the other one. I didn't start it off where the last chapter ended because I couldn't think of anything really. Anyways, please review.


	13. Chapter 13: Protecting Me

_Disclaimer: I do not own HSM_

_**A/N: I'm going to start a new story and I'm really not sure what to call it. The two titles I've narrowed it down to are "Accidentally on Purpose" and "A Blessing in Disguise." And I'd like to know which one you like better. Please put it in the review. I really want to know otherwise, I'm just going to pick it myself, and there's never any fun when your readers don't have a say in it. Thanks. (I'll post it at the bottom**__** for those of you who read the story first)**_

* * *

Chapter 13: Protecting Me

_You, you're always there for me_

_When I need you most_

_Day and night you're by my side_

_Protecting me_

* * *

Troy walked into the school the next day. He walked into homeroom to wait for Taylor to get there. He was surprised to see her already sitting in her desk apparently studying for the calculus test they had later today. He walked up to her desk.

"Hello, Troy." She said coldly without looking up from her book.

"I take it that you're still mad at me." He said.

"What was the first clue?" She responded looking up at him from her book.

"Listen…about that, I just wanted to apologize."

"Don't even try to weasel out of it. Gabriella could have—" She stopped surprised. "Huh?"

"I wanted to apologize." He repeated. "I should have taken what you said to heart. It could very well have been Gabriella, and the situation could've been worse than it was, and you were just looking out for her so I apologize for snapping at you."

He watched as she took in what he said. Her eyes softened. "Well, I guess that I did overreact. I'm sorry too. Don't tell Gabriella this, but I don't really like Ashley."

"Really?"

"Yeah, when she came into class yesterday, she was judging you, and I didn't think it was fair considering she didn't even know you. It just annoyed me that she thought that she knew everyone already. I don't think that she knows that this school is different from others."

"You can say that again." Gabriella said approaching them. "I only heard the last part. What are you guys talking about?"

"Oh, nothing. Just how different this school has been since the beginning of the year." Troy said kissing her on the cheek. "Hey. I thought that you'd be with Ashley."

"No. She said that she wanted to do something really quick. I don't know what it was. Were you talking about Ashley?"

She looked at their faces and saw that she had guessed right. "Can't you give her a break, Tay? I trust her, shouldn't that be enough for you? Can't you try to make an effort for me?"

Taylor sighed. She didn't want to do this, but this was Gabriella. "Oh. All right. I'll try. But just for you." Gabriella gave Taylor a hug. "I'll even go look for her for you."

* * *

Ashley weaved in and out of the crowds trying to spot Sharpay. Pretty soon, she found a locker that was painted pink. This must be it. She waited. Pretty soon, a pink clad Sharpay came waltzing up to her locker staring at her phone. She didn't really notice Ashley standing there until Ashley cleared her throat.

"Yes? Do I know you?" Sharpay asked.

"No, but—"

"Then bye-bye."

"Wait, I just wanted to compliment you."

"Oh?" Sharpay seemed surprised.

"Yeah. That jacket is really great for your figure, and your hair is so shiny and healthy."

Sharpay tossed her hair. "Why yes it is. Thank you…"

"Ashley."

"Thank you, Ashley. You have a wonderful sense of style."

"Thanks. I also wanted to apologize." Ashley thought about all the information she had gotten from various students about Troy and Gabriella. "I wanted to apologize for your tragedy."

"My tragedy?"

"The winter musicale should've been yours. I saw some of the older posters of you and your brother, and I think that you should have gotten the part instead of Gabriella."

Sharpay smiled. She was starting to like this girl. "I'm glad that you see it my way. It still mystifies me how she got the part. When she did the callbacks, she wore a lab coat!"

"No!"

"Yes!"

"Wow. She needs more help on her style that I thought." Ashley caught a glimpse of someone that looked like Taylor, but the person walked away before she could decide.

* * *

Taylor stormed back into homeroom. She had been right. Ashley was no friend of Gabriella's. She insulted her behind her back! That was low.

"Hey, did you find her?" Gabriella asked. She was confused as to why Taylor looked so steamed.

"Oh I found her all right, and you won't believe it."

"Judging from the look on your face, it wasn't very good." Troy said.

"Gabriella, she was talking to Sharpay and insulting you along with her." Taylor accused. "I don't think that you should hang out with her anymore."

"What? Tay, be realistic. Why would she say that?"

"Gabi, listen. She. Was Insulting. You." Taylor emphasized each word.

"Taylor, I don't think—wait." Gabriella paused. "Tay, you're not jealous are you?"

"Why would I be jealous of her?"

"Well, I've been spending a lot of time with her."

"You think that this is about me?"

"Now that I think about it, yeah, I do. You can't tell me who to hang out with." Gabriella retorted.

"Gabi, I'm not jealous. She's bad news. I've been your friend for months; she's been yours for one day. Why would I lie about this?"

"It all goes back to being jealous." Gabriella said cooly.

"I'm trying to protect you!"

"I don't need protecting!"

They glared at each other. Troy didn't know what to do. Fortunately for them, Ms. Darbus decided to start class early.

* * *

"Can you believe what she said about Ashley?" Gabriella asked Troy still mad after her little quarrel with Taylor.

"Actually—"

She cut him off. "I mean, why would Ashley ever say that? She's got no friends and I was just showing her around."

"I—"

"It just doesn't make sense. Ugh!"

"Brie, calm down. Taylor doesn't lie. I've known her since elementary school."

"But it doesn't make sense, Troy."

"Brie, just settle down. Maybe she's telling the truth. Taylor's never given you reason to doubt your trust."

"Oh, yes she has. You of all people should remember—"

"Besides that time has she ever given you reason to doubt her?"

Gabriella sighed. "No. Neither has Ashley."

"Yeah, but Ashley's never given reason not to."

He left the subject open for her to think about.

* * *

Ashley kept up her secret visits with Sharpay.

"I hope that you're not planning on staying friends with Montez." Sharpay expressed to Ashley.

"Oh, don't worry. I'll break the news to her soon enough."

"You know, you might just have an invitation to my party of Friday. But don't get your hopes up. Given your current popularity status, you're still a loser, but we can work this up to our advantage. Who do think would be worthy of the party from a non-popular point of view."

Ashley was going to tell Sharpay that Gabriella was quite popular and that since she's been hanging out with the gang, she's actually been introduced to a lot of people, but she decided to not tell her that. "Well, obviously there's Jessica Childress, David Hartley, Amy Locke, I guess the football team, oh and there's Troy."

"Ugh! That means that I have to invite Gabriella."

"Why?"

"Because if I don't invite her, there's no way that Troy will ever come. Ah, Troy." Sharpay sighed with a dreamy look in her eyes. "Yes, another one of my many unanswered questions: how did Gabriella manage to snag the hottest boy in the universe?"

"I really have no idea."

"He should be with me."

"Exactly. He should be with me."

"With you?" Sharpay said.

Ashley saw that her plan had a fault in it. How could she be so stupid as to not think that Sharpay would be in the competition to catch Troy's eye? Well, she would just have to stick with what she had now. "No. Don't be silly. I said you."

There would have to be something done about this little hiccup.

* * *

For rest of the week, Taylor and Gabriella didn't speak to each other. The gang was sort of torn over this. Nobody really knew what had happened, just that they were fighting. Gabriella kept hanging out with Ashley. Nobody really noticed how she was disappearing more often.

On Thursday morning, Sharpay handed out all of the invitations for the next day. People weren't surprised when the usual crowd of popular people were invited; Ashley's invite surprised everyone. Of the gang, only Troy, Chad, and Gabriella were invited. Chad decided not to go because Taylor wasn't going.

* * *

On Friday morning, Troy was in the gym shooting hoops when the gym door opened. Ashley walked in.

"Hey." He said putting up a shot. Ever since Taylor and Gabriella's argument, he wasn't feeling that friendly toward Ashley for causing a little crack in their group.

"Hey. What's up?"

"Oh, nothing. Just playing around."

"Excited about the party tonight?"

"Yeah. I guess. It really isn't that big of a deal to me."

"So do you want to go with me?"

"What?" Troy missed his shot. He got caught off guard.

"I said do you want to go to the party with me?"

"Um…I'm not really—I'm taking Gabriella."

She stepped closer to him. "Come on. You know that you want to. You've been looking at me all week."

"That's because you caused Taylor and Gabriella's fight, and I was trying to guess if she was right!"

"Come on, Troy." She leaned forward to kiss him, but he sprinted out of the gym in search of Gabriella when a thought stopped him in his tracks.

If he told Gabriella what had just happened, chances were that she would react the same way she had reacted to Taylor, and that wouldn't help anyone. He spotted Taylor.

"Taylor!" She turned to look at him. "Taylor, you were right about Ashley. She just tried to kiss me."

"What?! Are you serious?!"

"Yeah. She asked me out to the party tonight and tried to kiss me."

"What did you do?"

"I ran for it of course."

"Aren't you going to tell Gabriella?"

"I figured that she'd react the same way towards me as she did with you, so I still haven't told her yet. We're going to have to think of another way to do this."

Taylor took a moment to think. "Can you get Gabriella to go to the gym after school?"

"I can't. I'll be getting ready for the party."

"Well, tell her to meet you in the lobby of the hotel half an hour before the party starts."

"Why?"

"We're going to show Ashley's true colors."

* * *

That evening, Troy went to the hotel as he had been instructed by Taylor. She had explained the rest of the plan to him at lunch. If everything worked out, everything would be all right.

Troy looked at his cell phone. Ashley should be meeting him there right about…

"Troy!"

Right on time. He hoped that Gabriella was here right now. He had told her to meet him.

"Hey." He greeted with a fake smile. This is where his acting skills kicked in.

"Taylor said that you wanted to see me before the party."

"Um…yeah. I just wanted to talk to you really quick. I just wanted to tell you that I'd be happy to take you to the party."

"But what about Gabriella?"

"What about her?"

"I thought you said that you were going with her. Isn't she your girlfriend?"

"Well, that can be rearranged." She took a step closer and leaned forward to kiss him, but he kept on talking and took a step back. "Anyways, like you said her sense of style has been well…short of yours and Sharpay's."

"Well, I'm glad that you understand."

A voice came from behind her. "Me too."

* * *

Gabriella parked the car in the parking lot and made her way to the hotel. Troy had said that he wanted to meet her in the lobby. She walked in there and saw Troy talking with Ashley. She overheard them talking. She watched as Ashley tried to kiss him, but he took a step back from her.

"Anyways, like you said her sense of style has been well…short of yours and Sharpay's."

"Well, I'm glad that you understand."

Her hearing must have deceived her. She thought she just heard that Ashley agree that she had insulted her. Taylor had been right.

Taylor. Gabriella didn't feel like a good friend. She had just been trying to protect her from getting her feelings hurt. She stepped out.

"Me too."

They both turned around. Troy's face was ecstatic; Ashley's was shocked.

"Troy! How can you even try to kiss me? Gabriella's my friend!" She pushed him.

"Save it, Ashley. I heard everything and don't you dare touch him."

"But-but I thought—"

"Just get away from me right now."

Troy watched. He had never seen Gabriella this angry before. Ashley walked briskly away.

"Wow, remind me never to make that angry ever." He teased.

Gabriella sighed. "Troy, please."

"Sorry. This probably isn't the time to joke around."

"No, probably not." She took a deep breath. "Gosh, I feel like such an idiot."

"Don't feel like that. She's a good actress."

"And I should've seen that. I couldn't look past the good that I tried to see. My fault."

He stepped closer to her and grabbed her forearm. "Seeing the good in people isn't a fault. It's just the way you are. It makes you you, and I wouldn't have you any other way."

She smiled. He always knew how to make her feel better. "You really think so?"

He leaned down and kissed her.

"So you want to head over to the party now?" He asked when he pulled away.

"Nah. Let's ditch. I don't think they'll miss us. Let's go have some pizza. There's someone that I'd like to talk to."

Troy obliged, and they left the hotel.

* * *

Ashley walked away from Troy and Gabriella. This was not what she had been expecting when Troy had told her that he wanted to see her. She was planning more of a sweeping her off of her feet scene. Not angry current girlfriend comes in and rips her head off. She turned the corner and ran into Sharpay.

"Hey, Sharpay!" Ashley said instantly hiding her discouragement.

Sharpay stood with one of her arms on her hip and one to her side; her foot tapped the floor impatiently. She dressed for her party.

"I saw what happened." Sharpay told her.

Ashley paled. "It's not what it looks like. That was just a plan to make Troy fall for you." She tried to excuse herself.

"Save it, Appleton." Sharpay said holding her hand up.

"Please, I didn't mean any of it. Troy is all yours. I promise." Ashley begged her. Ashley knew that if Sharpay had the chance, she would make her life a living nightmare.

Sharpay loved this part. She loved it when people begged.

"Oh all right. Let's get to this party." Sharpay smirked as she walked towards the party room.

* * *

Taylor and the rest of the gang sat at the pizza parlor. The others were laughed and doing imitations of Sharpay and her party. Taylor was wondering whether her plan had been successful.

"Hey, guys."

Taylor turned around and saw Troy and Gabriella in their party clothes walking towards them.

"Hey." Taylor replied coldly. All laughing had stopped when they encountered.

"Hey, listen, um…I just wanted to apologize. I um…yeah just wanted to apologize."

"What ever are you talking about?"

Gabriella sighed. Taylor needed a proper apology. She had acted like a jerk to her all week. "I'm sorry that I didn't believe what you said about Ashley. You were right, she wasn't the nicest person."

Taylor smiled at her. "I forgive you, Gabriella." Taylor turned her attention towards Troy. "So it worked?"

He nodded, and Gabriella's gaze darted between both of them. "This was planned?"

"Of course it was planned. We needed to show you some way or another." Taylor said.

"You're just as devious as Sharpay!" Chad said. They all laughed.

"Yeah, she tried to kiss me twice today." He shuddered. "I don't think you would've believed me if I told you, so Taylor came up with this little plan of hers. I didn't like the bit where I had to pretend to ask her to the party, but it worked like a charm."

Gabriella sighed. "Well, thank you for protecting me. It's great to have such a great friend." Gabriella hugged Taylor. Troy cleared his throat. "And such a great boyfriend." She hugged both of them.

"Aw…we need to get into this group hug." The rest of the gang followed Chad and hugged them.

"Wait, so Ashley was the reason you and Tay were fighting, Gabs?"

"Yeah. Taylor tried to tell me that Ashley insulted me, but I—"

Chad cut her off. "What? She insulted you?" She nodded. "Oh, no one does that to my little sis. Guys, I think that it's time we crashed a certain party and paid Ashley a little visit."

"Chad, I've put it behind me. Let's just go with the first part of your plan." Gabriella suggested.

They all smiled and piled into their cars and headed for the hotel. When they all arrived, the party was in full swing. It seemed more people showed up than who were invited. Not sticking to Gabriella's orders, Taylor left the group and sought Ashley.

She found her talking to some guys at the refreshment table. "Hey, Ashley."

Ashley turned around. She didn't seem to mind hiding her disgust for the person in front of her. "What do you want, Taylor?"

"I just wanted to warn you. If you mess with any of my friends again, you will wish you were back in Michigan. And don't you dare come between Gabriella and Troy. Troy has made it clear that he doesn't want anyone but Gabriella, but it seems that half of the school doesn't seem to acknowledge it, and it only adds to the drama. I really don't like drama, so I just wanted to tell you to back off. Okay?"

Taylor smiled at herself and walked away. She had been waiting for a while to say that. It wasn't in her nature to confront people like that, but this was a special thing. Gabriella was the closest friend that she had; and looking out for your best friend is what a true friend is.

* * *

A/N: I know that I ended it really corny, but I didn't have any other way. Oh well. Thanks. And please review.

**_I'm going to start a new story and I'm really not sure what to call it. The two titles I've narrowed it down to are "Accidentally on Purpose" and "A Blessing in Disguise." And I'd like to know which one you like better. Please put it in the review. I really want to know otherwise, I'm just going to pick it myself, and there's never any fun when your readers don't have a say in it. Thanks._**


	14. Chapter 14: Beautiful Soul

_Disclaimer: I do not own HSM_

A/N: This is the same chapter 14, but I just changed the name. I thought that this song better suited it. Other than that, it's the same chapter. I'm in the process of working on chapter 15. Please be patient with me. I'm having a hard time finding the inspiration for it. Thanks.

* * *

Chapter 14: Beautiful Soul

_I don't want another pretty face_

_I don't want just anyone to hold_

_I don't want my love to go to waste_

_I want you and your beautiful soul_

* * *

The incident with Ashley eventually subsided, and everything returned back to normal. In fact, they got a little bit busier. Troy and Chad continued with their sports, and Gabriella, Taylor, and Martha still did the decathlon. And Kelsi was busy helping out with the Spring Musicale. The SAT's were also coming up in a few weeks.

Ms. Darbus was at the front of her classroom making the announcements. "And finally, I am happy to announce that auditions for our Spring Musicale are coming up. So start practicing and for additional information, please see me."

Sharpay clapped her hands, and Ryan smiled. This was their chance to redeem themselves. The winter musicale had been such a tragedy in Sharpay's life. This was going to be her time to shine.

The bell rang, and the class quickly filed out to go to their classes for the rest of the day.

Kelsi caught up with Troy and Gabriella. "Hey, so are you guys going to have a repeat success? Or what?"

Troy and Gabriella looked at each other and turned back to Kelsi. Gabriella started off. "Kels, I don't think that we're going to do the Spring Musicale this year."

"Aww…why not?" She asked.

"Look. We talked about it. As much as we love performing, there's just too many things to do right now." Troy explained to her.

"We're not saying that we'll never do it again, we're just going to take a break from it."

What Troy and Gabriella left out were some minor details. Sure, they were both extremely busy and had barely enough time to see each other. Between homework and extra curricular activities, they only saw each other at school, and it was getting frustrating not being able to spend time with each other. Maybe next time.

"Well, I can understand that. I'll see you two later then."

However, when Sharpay and Ryan asked what the musical was going to be, Sharpay was extremely disappointed when the lead role was for a boy. Despite her amazing acting abilities, there was no way Ms. Darbus was going to place her as the lead for the musical. Ryan was going to be the star for once. This year was not turning out as Sharpay would've liked it too. First Troy and Gabriella, now her own brother? "Unfair" didn't even cover the way Sharpay felt. This wasn't how she wanted to finish the school year.

* * *

The next day, Ms. Darbus's homeroom was just starting but the phone rang. "Darbus. Mm hm. Mm hm. Right away." She hung up the phone before turning to the class. "Ms. Montez, Principal Matsui would like to see you in his office."

Some of the goof balls "Oooo"d. Troy and Chad both sent them a threatening look. Gabriella timidly picked up her bag and set off for the principle's office.

She was only a little nervous about what the Principal might want with her. Since she had only broken one of the rules, the cell phone rule back in January, she wasn't all that worried of getting into that much trouble. And since Troy and she rarely showed that much public affection at school, there wasn't really much to think about as the secretary admitted her into the principal's office.

Gabriella opened the door and saw a very impatient Sharpay and a very patient Matsui. Gabriella took her seat next to Sharpay and waited for Principal Matsui to speak.

"Ah, Miss Montez, thank you for joining us. I'm sorry I had to steal you away from your interesting homeroom; I needed to speak with both of you.

"Miss Evans has already been informed of what you are both here for. Mr. and Mrs. Evans have expressed there concern that their daughter do well on her upcoming SAT's. They requested a tutor. I am to decide which student is most capable of this job, and I believe that that student is you Miss Montez."

"I already told you that I don't need a tutor." Sharpay stated.

Principal Matsui ignored her and continued. "Mr. and Mrs. Evans request that you meet at least three times a week. Which days those will be, you may decide. Would you mind doing this, Gabriella? I know that you have your own SAT's to prepare for."

Gabriella was a little wary of accepting the job. She and Sharpay hadn't been the best of friends since Gabriella had been at East High. It also didn't help that Sharpay had a thing for Troy.

But she decided that it wouldn't be that big of a deal. How bad could it be?

"I don't mind." Gabriella finally said.

Sharpay rolled her eyes.

"Excellent. Thanks you, Miss Montez. I shall inform Mr. and Mrs. Evans that Miss Evans now has a tutor. Thank you, Ladies. That will be all. The bell for first period should ring in a minute. You may go."

Gabriella and Sharpay walked out of the office.

"Um…so do you want to meet during free period to decide what days?" Gabriella asked her.

"Whatever." Sharpay replied. It was obvious that she was not thrilled about this unfortunate turn in her life.

Sharpay continued down the hall as Gabriella stopped in front of Ms. Darbus's room. The bell rang, and the students started to file out of the classrooms.

Troy finally came out. "Hey, so what happened? Are you in trouble?" He asked concerned.

"No. Nothing to worry about. Why would you need to ask that anyways? The only times I've been in trouble were when you called my phone and got me in detention the first day."

Troy laughed at the memory. Gabriella continued. "Oh, there was that time we were late to Ms. Darbus's Communication class, and you got me into detention again. And those were all in January so it seemed like a stupid thing to get in trouble for.

"The only thing that I would be worried about was our PDA but since we don't really show a lot of that, I don't really think that I'll get into trouble there." She thought for a moment.

"What are you thinking about?" he asked.

"Wow." She said. "I never realized…how much of a bad influence you are on me." She teased.

"What?" He feigned a hurt expression on his face and brought his hand to his heart.

"Well, think about it, the only times I've ever been in trouble were when it involved you. If I ever get in any more detentions, I swear, they're only going to be with you."

"True." Troy nodded. "But…if I had to decide between getting detention alone and getting detention with you, I'd always pick the second one."

"Charmer." She smiled.

He chuckled. "Well, I believe it or not, I _was _a pretty good kid before you got here. I only got into detention at least twice every semester."

She giggled her adorable giggle that always made Troy's day. He continued. "I think that you're the one affecting me here." He accused.

"Well, let's face it, Wildcat, I think we both affect each other."

"Yet again you are correct. I never would've thought about acting had it not been for you."

"The feeling is mutual, Wildcat."

"So, anyways, what was the reason for your visit to Matsui's office? We kind of got on a rabbit trail there."

"Well, he wanted to know if I could tutor Sharpay for SAT's."

"Oh, well, that's not too bad as long as she doesn't influence your innocent streak."

"And that would be bad because?"

"Well, she's a blonde, shallow, Drama queen. I'm kind of attracted to the smart, sensible, gorgeous girl standing in front of me."

"You really are a charmer."

He leaned down to kiss her, but she laughed and stopped him. "Nu uh. I don't need to be called to the Principal's office for PDA."

"Well, seeing that the halls are deserted, I don't really think it matters."

Gabriella for the first time took her eyes off of Troy's and noticed, indeed, that no one was in the halls. The bell rang, and Gabriella laughed.

"I suppose not. But right now, I'd better get to class before I really do get detention for something reasonable. Like being late. I'll see you later, Wildcat."

"Wait. Hey, one quick one before we put this PDA away?" He pleaded.

She happily sighed and kissed him quickly before walking to her class.

* * *

It just so happened that Troy and Gabriella weren't so lucky in avoiding getting detentions for being late to class. Ironically, their punishment was to help Darbus with cleaning up the dressing room.

"Troy, if this goes on my permanent record, you don't even want to know what I'm going to do to you." Gabriella threatened while rearranging the things by the mirror.

"What are you going to do? Refuse to kiss me? Idle threat."

He slowly sneaked behind her while he spoke. He was almost touching her. She was looking down so she didn't see him. She turned around to make a witty comeback but met his blue eyes and forgot all about threatening him.

He smirked knowing that he had made her speechless.

"You were saying, Brie?" He brought his hand up to her cheek and stroked it.

"Um…I…" She tried to make coherent sentences but he was making it so difficult.

The door opened quite suddenly and Gabriella jumped back.

"Ms. Montez, Mr. Bolton. You are free to go." Ms. Darbus informed them.

* * *

"All right, so the derivative of x to the n is d/dx xn n x(n-1)." Sharpay stated.

"That is correct." Gabriella said. "You're getting better at this."

Sharpay smiled and put her pencil down. "Finally! Our last problem of the day! Time to go shopping!"

Gabriella sighed and started putting the books into her bag.

Sharpay stared at her for a moment and sighed. "All right. Thank you for helping me out…In fact, I'm willing to offer you my advice."

"Oh no that's really not necessary."

"No, no I insist." Sharpay said. "Let's see. What advice can I pull out?" Her face lit up when she thought of just the advice to offer. "I know. You're with Troy right?"

Gabriella thought that that was a stupid question to ask, but she nodded.

"Hm. Yeah...great abs." She said a little dreamily, not bothering that Gabriella was there. "All right. How about some boy advice then? All right. You've been together for what one week?"

"Three months." Gabriella replied.

"Right. Well, let me guess. Holding hands and one kiss per time you meet right? You've probably never made out with him before right? Three months and no making out? Wow. You guys are so cute. My advice. Make out with him soon. You've been together three months. Why wait?"

Gabriella stared at her for one moment.

"I'll take your silence as a thank you. You're welcome. Well, I'm off. The mall is calling to me. Toodles."

* * *

Troy listened to the metal door open and heard footsteps running up the stairs. He stood up from the bench and looked at Gabriella.

She was still the same beautiful Gabriella, but she looked different somehow. Her eyes were a darker brown than usual as she drank in his presence.

She took a few steps toward him with that look in her eyes that excited him yet terrified him at the exact same time. It was a look that he had never witnessed before. In the back of his mind, he wondered if she had ever seen them that dark herself, or if anybody else had seen them for that matter. What was it?

"Gabriella, are you—"

He was cut short when her lips crashed on to his. He sat down before she knocked him over from the force with which she was kissing him. She sat down with him so as not to break the kiss.

Something wasn't right. She was being really forward with him and taking the lead here. Not that he didn't enjoy some of it…all right, most of it, but still…

The way she was kissing him, it felt like no kiss ever given between them. It felt like she was _daring_ him to respond to her forwardness. He could really feel it. The way her lips were on his, it was demanding his cooperation, asking him to go along with it.

And go along he did. He had no complaints, as long as Gabriella was okay with it. Which it looked like she was.

What was one kiss turned into another and another. After what seemed like an eternity, not that that is a bad thing, they pulled apart. Troy stared wide eyed at Gabriella, and she stared back. What had just happened?

"Troy, I'm…" She trailed off. Her embarrassment caught up with her as she blushed.

He pulled her head up and engaged her in a softer kiss. Instead of her demanding kiss, his was more of a reassuring kiss. She had done nothing wrong, and he was going to tell her that it was all right.

Troy pulled back and looked into her eyes once more. They were still extremely dark.

"It's fine." He told her. He paused for a little while. Finally he asked, "So do you want to talk about how your tutoring with Sharpay went or what just happened?"

"Well…they go hand-in-hand." Gabriella admitted shyly. She recounted her tale with Sharpay.

"She told you that you were silly for not making out with me sooner than today. Have I got that right?" He asked a little disbelievingly.

She nodded. "Basically."

He sighed. "All right. I knew somewhere along the way we were going to talk about something like this."

He took her hands into his and stared into her eyes. They were a little less dark than before. They seemed to be returning to their normal dark brown.

"Gabriella, look. I know that by some standards we are going way, way, way, way slow, but I don't have one problem with that. If I had to live off of one kiss a week, I'd be fine. Although please don't make me wait that long. I beg of you."

She giggled, and he continued. "Look, my point is that I'm not with you just because of the physical stuff. I mean, sure it's a plus that you are extremely gorgeous and that you're a great kisser, but I think, actually, I know there's much more to this relationship than just kissing and holding hands.

"It's much more than that. As much as I enjoy kissing you and holding you, I also enjoy you as a person. I love that I can talk with you about so many things that Chad or Jason or Zeke or the rest of the guys could never in one million years get into their heads.

"You've gotten me to see that there's more to life than just basketball. It's great to be able to get on the court with the guys and play ball. But if I could choose between playing basketball for the rest of my life, and talking to you for one second, I'd choose the second one all the time. Okay?"

Gabriella nodded a little teary eyed at his words. "Okay. Thanks, Troy. You always know the right thing to say to me. How do you do it?"

"It's just one of the things that comes along with knowing you so well. But we're all right now right?"

"Yeah. We're all right, Troy. Thanks."

"It's most definitely not a problem. That's what boyfriends are for."

"Tell that to Sharpay next time you see her. She seems to think that your looks and your abs are the only thing that matter."

"My abs?" He asked.

"Yup. Though I don't think I can blame her. She hasn't really gotten to know you past a 'Hey, Troy!'" She imitated Sharpay's tone.

"This is true. But I still wonder how she got a look at my abs."

"Maybe she was watching you at basketball practice earlier this year."

"That's kind of disturbing." He told her.

"Well, for all we know, she may have just taken a giant poster of a shirtless Zac Efron and put your head on his body."

"Well, see that wouldn't work because I look nothing like him."

"I still think he's pretty hot." She teased.

"Hey!"

"But he doesn't even come close to you." She answered.

"Now who's the charmer?"

"Still you." She said.

"And what have we learned today?" Troy asked in a tone that a teacher would use with a student.

"That making out can be enjoyable." She said cheekily.

"Gabriella! Who would've ever thought that innocent sweet little Gabriella Montez would ever say something like that."

"I told you that you had a bad influence on me. But I think I've learned that Sharpay's advice is really shallow and that I should never ever get advice from her again and that we're going to go at our own pace."

"That's my girl." Troy said smiling, and he hugged her.

* * *

Gabriella had tutoring with Sharpay again the next day, and she asked Troy to come with her so that she wouldn't have to face Sharapy alone. If Sharpay ever offered to give advice, Gabriella would've taken it. She was too nice of a person not to. That's what Troy was there for.

Troy and Gabriella sat at one of the library tables waiting for Sharpay's arrival.

"So we're clear on this right?" He asked her. "We're going to go at _our _own speed and on the speed that people think we should be going. So that means no more listening to Sharpay or any other advice other people give about our relationship. Yeah?"

"Yeah, Troy. I got it. Thanks." She reached out and held his hand.

"I see my advice has worked beautifully." Sharpay commented.

"Look, Sharpay. Gabriella and I would appreciate it if you would keep your advice to yourself. No offence, but we'd like our relationship to stay _our _relationship. Okay?"

"Troy, don't tell me that you didn't enjoy my advice that I gave Gabriella yesterday."

Troy stayed silent and Sharpay looked smug.

Gabriella spoke up. "Look, Sharpay. Let's just keep these tutoring sessions to tutoring sessions. All right?"

Sharpay looked from Troy to Gabriella and back again before she sighed. "All right, but you're going to miss stuff from your relationship."

"I think we have everything we need." Troy said squeezing Gabriella's hand.


	15. Chapter 15: One in a Million

_Disclaimer: I do not own HSM_

Chapter 15: One in a Million

_They say that good things take time_

_But really great things happen in the blink of an eye_

_Thought the chances to meet somebody like you were a million to one_

_I cannot believe it, Ohh_

_You're one in a million_

* * *

The Wildcats sat in Ms. Darbus's homeroom listening to the announcements.

"The Spring Musicale will take place the Monday after Junior Prom, starring our very own Ryan Evans."

Everyone politely clapped.

"And lastly Junior Prom. Once again, this year's theme is 'The Masquerade'. Dress up in school colors. Please be sure to purchase your tickets before next Friday. You may purchase your tickets from Miss Martha Cox. And don't forget to vote for your prom king and queen."

The bell rang signaling the end of homeroom. Everyone filed out. Troy and Gabriella walked hand in hand.

"Hey, I have to get to class early to uh…cram for a quiz. Meet me at the rooftop for lunch?" He asked her.

"All right. I'll see you then." She kissed his cheek and walked to her own class.

Troy made his way to his class. Martha had the same class as he had first period, and she always got to class early. He made his way to his next class. Ms. Darbus had made the announcement two days ago, but yesterday he had forgotten the money. He nearly forgot it today, but his mom reminded him. Thank the Lord for mom memories. He entered the class and saw that Martha wasn't surrounded by anyone. He approached her. "Hey, Martha. Can I have two tickets please?"

Troy stood by the railing of the garden. He fiddled with his ring as he waited for Gabriella to come up. She would be coming up those stairs at any moment now. He was extremely nervous.

It seemed silly considering that they had been together for almost half a year, but he was still nervous. Of course she was his girlfriend, but there was that .0000000009% chance that she would turn him down.

He heard the metal door open, and he looked over the railing as he watched her climb the steps. His heart beat faster with every step she took. It was hard to discern why it was beating so fast. Either he was really nervous, or he supposed that it was just the effect she had on him whenever she was near him.

After what seemed like an eternity, she finally stood next to him.

"So is there a reason why we decided to ditch our friends to eat alone?" She asked jokingly.

"Is it a bad thing that I want to spend time with my girlfriend?" He asked as he kissed her cheek.

"I was just being curious." She said in defense. "It's not every day we spend lunch alone together." She told him.

He started to fiddle with his class ring with his thumb as his other hand reached into his back pocket to get the tickets.

"You've caught me." Troy admitted. "I did sort've call you up here for a reason. I didn't want to do this in front of the entire cafeteria." He turned to face her and brought out the tickets. "Would you be my date to Junior Prom?"

Gabriella looked at the tickets. A huge smile spread across her face. "Yes."

* * *

Taylor, Gabriella, Martha, and Kelsi were getting ready at Kelsi's house.

"I cannot believe that Chad asked you in a normal way." Gabriella said laughing.

"I know, and he actually got it out too." Kelsi added.

Taylor laughed along with them. "I know. I think I was going to faint from surprise."

"Guys, once more, we look amazing if I don't say so myself." Martha commented as they put the finishing touches on their makeup. "And, Gabi, I love your new hair cut."

They all had on their dresses. Gabriella was the only one who stood out. All the others were wearing red and black patterns. She wore solid white, and it complemented everything about her. All they needed to do now was put on their masks, but they wouldn't do that till they were outside of the school.

"Thanks." Gabriella replied. When she had first gotten her hair cut, she had been worried that she had cut it too short, but with the assurance of her friends and Troy she had decided that she liked this new short look on her.

"You are totally going to beat Sharpay for prom queen." Kelsi told her.

"That reminds me. I did not nominate myself for prom queen. Now which one of you did it?" Gabriella demanded.

Kelsi and Martha shrugged. They didn't know.

Gabriella turned to Taylor. "Tay, I promise I won't kill you if you tell me you did it or if someone else did it."

"Gabi, if I told you, you wouldn't believe me in a thousand years." Taylor laughed.

"Try me, Tay." Gabriella challenged.

"All right." Taylor laughed. "The person who nominated you was Sharpay."

All of the other girls jaws dropped. "What?" Gabriella asked in shock.

"I warned you." Taylor said.

"How do you know it was Sharpay?" Gabriella asked skeptically.

"Well, um..._I _was planning on nominating you. I went to the office to do it, but I overheard Sharpay saying that she nominated you." Taylor admitted. "I believe her exact words were, 'I just want an assessment of how popular she is.'"

"She knows what 'assessment' means'?" Martha laughed.

"Yeah, I was surprised too. I even double checked to see if she really nominated you. She really did." Taylor told everyone.

"Well, we'd better get going. We don't want to be too late." Kelsi said looking at the clock in her room. Everyone else agreed.

The guys were going to meet them at the school this time. The girls had wanted to play a little game and see if the guys could recognize them with masks on and if the girls could do it as well. The boys groaned and complained that they wanted to see them sooner than that, but of course, the girls got their way. Of course they just had to make it interesting. It was going to be guys versus girls.

Taylor brought out her cell phone and looked at the time. "Oh hey, guys. We'd better get going."

They all checked themselves one last time before they went downstairs. Mr. Neilson was going to drive them all to the school.

They had fun driving for a little while and singing along with some songs by Prince. As they approached the school, they put their masks on. They were dropped off at the gym and entered. The gym was decorated in white, red, gold, and black banners, streamers, and balloons. The lighting was impressive. It brought out everyone's dress outfits. If you were there, it probably would've looked like a scene from Phantom of the Opera.

"Where do you think they are?" Taylor yelled to the girls above the music.

"I think that we should spread out and look." Kelsi yelled.

The all agreed with a nod and like that, they were off to play their game.

* * *

The boys entered at the opposite entrance around the same time the girls arrived. They looked around and tried to locate their date, but the room was a blur of red, black, gold, and white.

They were dressed in their tuxes and each had their masks on.

"Dude, there is no way we're going to find them." Chad yelled over to Troy. "And remind me again why you got your hair dyed."

"It seemed like something new to do instead of just getting my hair cut. Brie seemed to like it this morning." He commented.

Troy squinted into the crowd trying to get a glimpse of Gabriella's recognizable curls but to no avail. The gym was crowded with bodies that were dancing around too much for him to get a good look at the girls. It didn't help that Gabriella hadn't told him what color her dress was.

"Well, let's try to spread out and look for them. We've gotta beat them at this game." Jason yelled.

Encouraged by the competition, the boys quickly melted into the crowd to locate their date.

Troy stayed on the outside of the sea of people to try to find Gabriella without having to bump into anyone. He kept in mind that she wasn't probably going to be dancing since they had made this a little seeking game. He walked around for a bit until he saw her. Her hair was in a messy ponytail; her dress was white, and it fit her figure. She was the most beautiful person he'd ever seen.

He started to approach her. Her head was turning this way and that, probably in an attempt to find him before he found her. But it was too late for that. All he had to do was lay his hand gently on her arm.

She knew who it was before she turned around. She'd felt that spark she always did when he touched her. It set his touch apart from anyone else's, and it made him all the more special to her. He was a one in a million guy.

She turned around to be met by his striking blue eyes staring at her through the red mask that concealed the rest of his face.

He leaned towards her and said loud enough for her to hear him. "I win." He kissed her on the cheek. "You look beautiful."

"Thank you."

Troy felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. He took it out and looked at the new text that he received. "Chad said to meet him under the hoop on the north side of the gym. Let's go." He took her hand into his and led her through the crowd.

They reached the section of the gym Chad had instructed them to go to, and found all of their friends waiting for them.

"So who found who first?" Zeke asked Troy and Gabriella.

"Troy found me." Gabriella told the girls.

"Aww. Gabi, you ruined our perfect streak." Martha told her. "I found Zeke first; Kels found Jase first; and Taylor found Chad first."

"Yeah. I was the first one to find Chad. That's why we texted you first. But seriously, it wasn't all that hard to find him. His hair gave everything away."

Chad looked defeated. "It's not fair. This hair is both a blessing _and_ a curse."

Gabriella hit herself lightly on the head. "Now I know why I couldn't find you, Wildcat. You got your hair done! I was looking for that long light brown hair. You did this on purpose. Didn't you?" She asked as she ran her hands through his new hair-do.

"Nah. I just thought that it was time for a change. Your hair was confusing too. I almost didn't recognize you because your hair is a considerable amount shorter. But I love it." He told her. "So, anyways, what do we have to do for you guys?"

"Hoops, you weren't supposed to remind them that we had a bet." Chad told him.

"Oh, don't worry, Chad. We didn't forget." Taylor assured him. "We talked about it on the way here. You boys have to wash our cars and do whatever yardwork we want you to this summer."

"What?" All of the guys asked simultaneously.

"Yeah." Gabriella agreed. "You never said what the conditions were. We girls want you to work on our cars and do yard work this summer.

"But—you guys don't even have cars." Zeke argued.

"I know. It still doesn't mean that you can't wash our parents' cars." Martha told them.

"What?!"

"Awww. That's so cute. They think they can refuse us." Taylor said laughing.

"Oh, come on guys think about it." Gabriella tried to persuade them. "It's summer in Albuquerque. It's going to be extremely hot; you guys can wet each other and have fun while you do it… And it's not a bad view for us girls either." She said smugly.

"Gabriella!" Troy said. "Is there something that you're implying?"

"Nope." She said laughing. "Besides, it's not like any of us are getting jobs this summer. Taylor and I keep getting beat out by college students, and I'm pretty sure that's what's happened to you guys too. Might as well have fun working this summer." She pointed out.

"Huddle!" Chad called out.

The boys looked at each other. It was true that they weren't having any luck in the job hunting. It was also true that they would have fun while working. I mean, a job with your friends is fun wherever you go…right?

"Come on, guys. It'll be fun." Troy encouraged. "And it's not that bad. I offer Ms. Montez to do the yard work all the time. Afterwards, she gives me brownies. They're awesome."

With that last statement, the boys agreed.

The girls watched as the guys talked amongst themselves. It was amusing. After ten whole seconds of talking the boys turned their attention back to the girls.

"We accept these conditions." Jason told them.

The girls laughed and clapped their hands while the boys rolled their eyes. They heard the DJ speak for the first time since they arrived.

"All right. Choose a partner for this next dance, but don't pick the person who you came with."

The gym was thrown into chaos as everyone tried to find a partner to dance with.

Troy caught a glimpse of Sharpay looking for him. "Chad, quick. Let's just switch dates for the time-being before Sharpay comes over here and recruits me to be her tool for her dance solo."

Quickly Taylor and Gabriella went to the other's dates and went onto the dance floor. They all danced to "Pump It" By the Black Eyed Peas.

They all returned to the sidelines to catch their breaths.

"Dang, Gabs, you can really dance." Chad told her.

"Thanks, Chad. So can you, you know." She commented.

"Nah. I don't dance. Except for parties." He added.

It wasn't long before they took a break that Gabriella heard one of her favorite songs by Christina Aguilera and pulled Troy once more to the dance floor.

An hour later, Ms. Darbus went up to the DJ and grabbed the microphone. "It's time to announce our prom king and queen. Our prom king and queen this year are Mr. Troy Bolton and Miss...Gabriella Montez."

Somewhere in the gym, all of the Wildcats heard an ear piercing scream. All of the students covered their ears. Everyone knew who screamed. Nonetheless, Troy and Gabriella made their way to the DJ stand to receive their crowns. Once they had been crowed, Troy led Gabriella to the middle of the dance floor so that they could slow dance. Gabriella was a little nervous to dance in front of everyone, but like he did at the winter musical, he made her feel like they were the only two people in the room.

As the night went on, the Wildcats danced the night away.

* * *

The following week of school didn't hold much significance for out group of Wildcats. Most were preparing for finals, and the ones in sports were preparing for final games for the season.

Gabriella had convinced Troy to accompany her to the spring musical.

As she and Troy sat down in the auditorium and the musical began to start, Gabriella spoke to Troy.

"You know, Wildcat. I miss being up on stage."

Troy thought for a moment. "Well, maybe next year we'll do something. That Winter Musical tired me out. And you never know, we still have all summer."

* * *

A/N: Sorry I haven't updated in a while. But I guess that's what happens when you take A.P. English. Please don't be mad at me. I know that this chapter wasn't what it was supposed to be, but the next chapter starts HSM2. And it will most likely get better.

The chapters will remain the same, but I'm going to upload chapter sixteen into a different story. Please Review.


	16. Chapter 16: I Miss You

_Dislcaimer: I do not own HSM_

A/N: Well, I haven't published anything in a while, and this piece came to mind. It was one of the first pieces I'd ever written for "Our Song", and I've kind of lost the drive to finish the series, so I decided to put this chapter up.

Summary: If you read the story, which I hope you did, Gabriella explained to Troy that she visits her dad every year on the anniversary of his death, and Troy promises to Gabriella that he's going to be there for her. This chapter is the portion of the story when Troy keeps his promise.

* * *

I Miss You

_I miss you; I miss your smile_

_And I still shed a tear every once in a while_

_And even thought it's different now_

_You're still here somehow_

_My heart won't let you go, and I need you to know_

_I miss you, Shalalalala_

_I miss you_

* * *

Troy walked into the kitchen the day after the staff party. Yesterday, it was nice just to hang out with his friends and Gabriella after his "absence" from the group. Everyone was still happy from their previous day off. Troy loved the feeling that was in the room, but he soon discovered that something was missing. Someone was missing. A certain brown eyed girl to be exact.

"Hey, Chad, do you know where Brie is?" Troy asked.

"No. Sorry, man." Chad replied.

He exited the kitchen before anyone could say anything else and checked the pool. She wasn't cleaning it. He entered the kitchen once again and peaked into the piano room. Nope. Not there either. He walked into the kitchen once again and grabbed his food. While his friends were reminiscing of the day before, Troy remained quiet as he pondered where Gabriella could be. He didn't really feel like eating. He couldn't think of any place where she could be. He had a feeling that he was missing something, and he didn't like it. Taylor soon clocked in, grabbed her breakfast, and went over to him.

"Hey, Tay, do you know where Gabriella is?" Troy asked.

"She's not here?" Taylor asked surprised. "Where is she?"

"I was hoping that you could tell me." He said. "I'm getting worried. She didn't tell anyone where she was going. She didn't clock in. I have no idea where she could be."

"Troy, calm down. I'm sure she's fine. Maybe Fulton knows. I'll go with you to ask him after breakfast." Taylor said.

That made Troy feel a little bit better, and he ate. After Troy and Taylor were done with their breakfast, they went to pay a quick visit to Fulton before the members started to arrive. They made their way through the lobby to Fulton's office and knocked on the door.

"Yes?" Came the voice inside.

Troy and Taylor entered shyly.

"Hello, Sir." Troy greeted.

"Ah. Mr. Bolton. Miss McKessie. Why are you here and not getting ready for the work day? Don't you have to be on the golf course, Bolton?"

"Actually, Sir, we were just wondering if you knew where Gabriella was and if you knew why." Troy said.

"I am not authorized to give you that kind of information, Mr. Bolton." He answered. Troy's spirits fell. Mr. Fulton looked up and said, "I don't know where she is. But seeing how concerned you are that you probably won't do a day's work without my telling you, I'll tell you. Miss Montez took this day off in advance. When she first started here, in fact. Of course, when I offered her job back, she still wanted this day off." Troy's face showed confusion while Taylor's dawned in realization.

"Why would she-" Troy started.

"Troy." Taylor cut him off. "Thank you, Mr. Fulton."

Taylor pushed Troy out the door. He stood there wondering why she had just done what she just did.

"Taylor, why-" She cut him off again.

"Troy, I know why she's not here. It just occurred to me. Troy, she's in Colorado."

"Why would she be in Colorado?" He asked.

"Troy, do you remember when we first met her, and she told us her story? She said that her dad died in the summer. Why else would she just disappear without telling us or you?"

Troy's heart stopped. He thought back to when she had first told the gang everything about her past. He remembered that she had said that she always went to visit his grave no matter where she was when he had been there to help her realize that it wasn't her fault. He also remembered a certain promise that he made her. He grabbed his phone and pressed the speed dial. _Hey you've reached Gabriella's phone. Please leave a message, and I'll get back to you as soon as I can. Have a great day._

"She's not answering. Why didn't she tell me?"

"Troy, you guys only got back together two days ago. Yesterday, everyone was celebrating. Think about it. This is Gabriella we're talking about. She wouldn't want to bring anyone down."

Troy thought about that. She was right. Gabriella wasn't one to put a damper on things. He pulled out his phone again and dialed a number.

"Hello?"

"Ms. Montez, do you know where Gabriella is?" Troy asked.

"Troy?" She asked surprised.

"Did she leave for Colorado?" Troy asked.

Smart boy. "Yes, Troy. She left this morning and took the van to Denver."

"Why didn't she remind me?" Troy asked.

"Oh, Honey, she didn't want to bring you down. You just got back together. And everyone was celebrating yesterday." She repeated what Taylor said.

"When did she leave?" Troy asked hurriedly.

"She left a little over an hour ago. You're not thinking of going to Colorado are you, Troy?"

"The thought had occurred to me. I made a promise to her, Ms. Montez. I told her that I would be there for her. I intend to keep that promise."

"All right, Troy. If you insist. Remember she's going to Crown Hill Cemetery. And Troy?"

"Yes, Ms. Montez?"

"Thank you." She said.

"It's not a problem. Bye."

Troy hung up and looked at Taylor. "She's on her way to Colorado."

"What are you going to do?" Taylor asked.

"I promised her that I would be there this time. I've broken enough promises this summer, but I am keeping this promise. She deserves it after all the stuff that I've put her through."

"Troy, how are you going to do that?"

"Well, first off I'm going to-" He was cut off by a familiar voice.

"Troy!" Sharpay called.

Troy and Taylor looked across the lobby at Sharpay. Her father was close behind her.

"Sharpay, I really don't have time for this right now." He turned to Taylor. "I have to find a way to get to Denver as soon as possible."

"Well, if that's where you have to go, you can just take the private helicopter." Mr. Evans offered.

"Sir, I couldn't." Troy said. "I'll just drive my truck."

"Please, Troy. I insist. It's all right. It's only Colorado. Besides you can just pay it off by practicing with the Red Hawks. And to be honest, Troy, I don't think that you're truck could make it out of Albuquerque yet alone to Denver."

Troy was speechless. He couldn't find the words to thank him.

"Th-thank you, Sir. I-thank you." He said shaking his hand. "Okay, Tay. I have to go tell Mr. Fulton."

"I'll take care of that!" Sharpay volunteered, and she skipped off to Mr. Fulton's office. Troy thought about how Sharpay had changed. She had been friendly the past day and hasn't tried to do anything to Gabriella. Then he thought about how she had done the same thing for a weekend when she had lost the part of the winter musical. And he knew that her nice streak wouldn't last.

"I'll explain everything to Chad and the others. Go get her, Troy." Taylor urged.

"Are you sure, Mr. Evans?" Troy asked as he climbed into the helicopter.

"Quite sure." he assured. "Just do what you have to do."

"Thank you." Troy said once more.

Gabriella kept her eyes on the road. She tried not to lose it right there. She tried to think of all the good times that Troy and she had had. The dance. Their first kiss. Their first date. Florida. Junior Prom.

She unconsciously reached up and touched the "T" necklace that he had given her at the beginning of the summer. She remembered the promise that he had made to her at the beginning of the year, that he would be there when she went to visit his grave. It was her fault that she hadn't told him of her plans. But she didn't want to bring him down. Yesterday had been a day of forgiveness. It was the first full day she had been with Troy ever since they had started working at Lava Springs, and it was the first day she had spent time with him since he had gotten his promotion and started to distant himself from the gang. She didn't tell anyone of her plans. Not Kelsi or Martha or Taylor. She didn't want to burden anyone.

It took all of her being to focus on the road and the cars around her. She hadn't thought of the danger of driving while she was in a state of mourning. It was overwhelming. She desperately tried to get her mind off the painful memories and focus on her friends and Troy. The last thing her mother needed was losing her too.

The helicopter ride there was short. They had managed to get there in a couple of hours. Troy remembered that she had said something about Crown Hill Cemetery and Park, and he told the pilot to land in the Crown Hill Park right across the street from the memorial. After assuring him that he could go back to Albuquerque because he was going to go home with his girlfriend. He walked to the memorial park across the street.

Girlfriend. He hadn't been able to call her that for almost a week. He wasn't sure if only the week counted. In his mind, he lost her when he first got the promotion. It was nice to know that she was his again. He had seen that when she sang with him at the Midsummer's Night Talent Show while wearing the necklace that he had given her. He started to wander trying to find her.

She parked the car across the street and locked it. She walked through the familiar cemetery that she had come to memorize over the past nine years. It didn't matter what state or city she was in. She had promised her dad that she would always come back. She walked for a few more minutes before walking to the oak tree that signaled where her father was buried. She had a small bouquet of flowers in her hand, and she set it on the grave.

"Hey, Dad. I'm back. Mom couldn't be here. She had work. She said to tell you that she's sorry that she couldn't make it and that she loves you. We moved again. We lived in San Diego when I came to see you last summer. We live in Albuquerque now. We moved there this past winter. Mom said that we're not going to move until I graduate, so that's good news. So much has happened this past year in Albuquerque. I go to East High. It's a really good school. I've made lots of good memories.

"First off, I made a bunch of new friends. Taylor McKessie is my best friend. She's on the Decathlon Team. There's Martha Cox too. She's really smart, but she can bust a move." Gabriella paused and laughed. "Kelsi Neilson is really shy, but she's come out of her shell since I first met her. She writes the most amazing songs that I have ever heard! Chad Danforth, yes, Daddy, I made friends with some boys too, is really cool. He's a real jokester. He makes everybody laugh. He treats me like a little sister, and he's really protective of me. Jason Cross is so funny. He doesn't really follow a lot of the conversations that people start with him. But he's smart. Zeke Baylor is a magician with everything pastry. Not only can he make brownies, though mom's are still the best, but he can make all sorts of different types of pastries strudels, scones, even apple pandowdy. He's on the quest to make the perfect crème brulée.

"I made a most recent friend lately. His name is Ryan Evans. He's really nice. He can play baseball really well. He played on the Little League World Series team. His dancing isn't bad either. It's not even bad. It's really good. He starred in the Spring Musicale at our school. I think that he could make it to Broadway. All the boys, except for Ryan are on the basketball team, and they're really good. The Wildcats won the state championships in fact.

"That's it for the list of friends. Best friends anyways, we hang out a lot. Come a long way from just making friends with just the Decathlon Team huh? I made friends with a new girl earlier…well newer than me to East High. Her name is Ashley Appleton. She turned out to be a fake. It's all right though. I made plenty of other friends. You would be surprised to see how much I've branched out in the last few months.

"I went to Disney World with my friends. It was so much fun! We spent six days of Spring Break there. It was amazing. I had so much fun with my friends. Sharpay didn't even interfere because she was in Paris.

"Oh." She laughed. "I guess I have to tell you about Sharpay Evans too. She's Ryan's twin. She's older than him by just a few minutes, and she never lets him forget it. She's…a drama queen to sum it all up. Everything about her is over the top. She's a real diva. I have a job right now as a lifeguard at their parents' country club.

"Oh. This past winter, I starred in the school musical. It was actually a lot of fun. The drama teacher, Ms. Darbus is an older version of Sharpay. Everything about her is over the top too. But she helped me a lot in overcoming my stage fright, and she showed me that performing is one of the greatest thrills in life. The adrenaline pumping through you, is a real rush when you're performing in front of hundreds of people. I shared the lead in the musical with a boy.

"All right, Dad, it's time you knew. I met a boy while I was on vacation with Mom at that ski lodge that you brought us to while we were living here. I met him while singing karaoke at a New Year's Eve party. His name is Troy. Yes, he is my boyfriend. He is so wonderful, Daddy. You would've liked him despite the fact that he's dating me; Mom does. He's on the golf team, and he's the captain of the basketball team, and he has a knack for the performing arts. He has the most amazing eyes. He's sweet. He knows just what to do to brighten my day, and he knows just what to say to make me laugh. He's a real gentleman and really romantic. For our first date he sang to me while playing his acoustic guitar. He does little things to show that he cares for me. He gave me a necklace with his first initial on it. And he sings to me when I'm upset. But he makes his share of mistakes as do all of us. These past few weeks, he hasn't been acting like himself. He's been worried about college for a little while, and when the chance came to get a scholarship he took it, but lost himself along the way. I had to break up with him to snap some sense back into him, but he found his way back. Right now, we're still trying to find our way back to where we used to be. But He has a good heart and soul. He cares for me, and I care for him. HHHI wish that you were here. I miss you. So much."

Troy tried to call Gabriella a couple of more of times, but she still wouldn't answer. Troy wandered around the cemetery before he saw a large oak tree. He made his way over to see if he could climb it to get a better view of the cemetery to see if he could spot Gabriella. He had a tree house back home after all. And he had experience with climbing the tree to reach Gabriella's balcony.

As he was nearing the tree, he saw someone kneeling. He recognized her brown curls immediately. Her back was turned to him so she didn't see him when he came up behind her. He heard her talking, apparently she had just arrived, because she was giving her greetings. He listened intently to her conversation. He laughed to himself on the inside when she described his best friends. He felt anger boiling inside him when she talked about Ashley. He remembered the good times that they had in Florida. He felt a smile tug on his lips when she described Sharpay. He listened intently when she started to talk to her dad about him. He smiled when she heard him describe all the things that he did for her to show her that she cared. He winced when she started to describe what had happened a few weeks prior when he hadn't been acting like himself. He heard her talking about how she described her feelings for him. She stopped talking, and then he heard her crying. He decided that now was as good a time as any to go up to her. He knelt quietly beside her and engulfed her into his arms. She tensed for a moment in surprise, but there was no mistaking the arms that were holding her.

"Troy?" She asked between breaths.

"Hey. Shh." He comforted her. She broke down again. He let her cry. He didn't stop her. He liked the fact that he was the one to comfort her. He wasn't sure how long they sat there. Her voice suddenly came through.

"Wh-what are y-you doing here?" She asked.

"I promised you that I could comfort you when you came to see him. I've broken enough promises this summer. I didn't want to break this one too. This is different."

"I'm s-sorry that I didn't tell you." She said. "I didn't want to bring you down."

"I know. I wish you did though. Well, not the bringing down part. The telling me part. I wouldn't have minded coming here. I promised. I've put you through a lot of crap these past few weeks. I've broken enough promises this summer. I was determined to keep this one." He explained for the third time.

"How?" She asked wiping her face.

He knew what she was asking."I went to work this morning and noticed that you weren't there. I asked Taylor, but she didn't know where you were either. We decided to ask Mr. Fulton if he knew. He didn't know where you were, but he told us that you had taken the day off in advance when you first started work. You decided to keep it when he gave you your job back. Taylor figured out where you went. I called your mom just to make sure. She confirmed it. As to how I got here, I was in the middle of talking to Taylor about what I was going to do to get here, when Sharpay and her father interfered. When he heard where I wanted to go, he let me take his private helicopter over here. He said that I could just repay him by practicing with the Red Hawks. A helicopter ride later, here I am."

She laughed. She never imagined that he would do this for her. She felt more tears about to fall. "How long have you known that I was here?"

"You wouldn't answer your phone. I was wandering for ten minutes when I saw the oak tree and decided to climb it to see if I could find you. You already started your little conversation."

"You heard the whole thing?" She asked embarrassed.

"Yeah. I didn't know that I meant that much to you."

"You do." She felt his arms tighten around her. She started to cry again. But she heard his voice singing to her and soothing her.

"_Everyday, of our lives, wanna find you there wanna hold on tight."_

She picked up the next part. Her voice was cracking, but it sounded beautiful nonetheless. "_Gonna run while we're young and keep the faith._"

"It's all right." He said wiping her tears with his thumbs.

She instantly felt better and wiped her own eyes. "Troy, this is my father. Daddy, this is Troy."

"Hello, Sir. I would tell you about myself, but it sounds like Brie covered all of that already. You know pretty much everything about me. Don't worry. The interrogation has already been initiated by Taylor and Chad. I wouldn't do anything to hurt your daughter. Intentionally anyways. These past few weeks have been confusing, but it's okay now. _We're _okay now. I'll take good care of her from now on. I'm not going to let her go willingly."

Gabriella smiled as she listened to Troy. She was glad that he was here to comfort her for he was still holding her while he was talking. Once again she was glad that they could talk about anything with each other.

"Thank you, Troy."

"For what?"

"For keeping your promise. For being here with me. It means so much."

"It's no problem. You deserve it. It was the least that I could do for you after you saved me from myself."

"Well, thank you again."

They remained silent for a few minutes.

"Are you ready?" He asked her.

"Yeah. I am. Let's go." She said. "Bye, Daddy. Thanks. Te quiero con toda mi alma." She stood up.

"Hold on." Troy said he kneeled back down and said something inaudible. "I'm ready. Let's go."

She was about to ask him what he said, but she decided against it. "So is your private helicopter around?" She asked jokingly.

"Actually, no. I told the pilot to go back to Albuquerque. I told him that I already had a ride back."

"What makes you think that I'm going to give you a ride back?"

"It's just a hunch that I have. You see, I have this amazing girlfriend who will willingly drive me home." Troy said.

"I don't know." She said teasingly.

"Please?" He looked at her with those light blue eyes. She instantly melted.

"All right. But only because you said please."

She led him through the cemetery to the car.

"Can I drive?" He asked.

"You really want to drive for the next four hours and forty minutes." She said.

"Yeah. You need a break. All I did on the way up here was sit and look at the view from hundreds of feet in the air."

She thought about it. "Fine, but only because I'm emotionally drained."

They got into the car and started the long drive home.

"Brie, did you really mean what you said back there?"

"About what, Troy. I said a lot of things."

"About my eyes."

"Yes, I love your eyes."

"Are you kissing up, Montez?" He said switching their game up.

"Yes, Bolton, yes I am." She laughed.

His tone grew serious. "I care for you. A lot. And what I said back there is true. I will not let you go willingly."

"I care for you too, Troy." They fell into a comfortable silence, and she yawned.

"Go ahead and get some sleep. I'll wake you up when we get home."

She nodded, too tired to argue and fell fast asleep.

They reached her home, but he didn't have the heart to wake her. It was still the afternoon. Since Maria wasn't home, he went to the porch and grabbed the spare key and opened the front door. He carried in a sleeping Gabriella. She had been on an emotional roller coaster and was still out cold. He took her up the stairs and laid her in her bed. He knew that she was going to wake up sooner or later so he left a note explaining that he would be downstairs. As soon as he laid it on her dresser by her bed, he leaned over and gave her a goodnight kiss.

"Sweet dreams, my Gabriella."


End file.
